Second Nature
by lazyartisan
Summary: Destiny is a funny thing-Zuko's season 2 story arc takes a radical turn after he is captured at the North Pole. One event can change so much- and so little. Plotbending, character exploration and a grittier more realistic portrayal of the Avatar World.
1. Prologue

This story has been in progress for a while now, and I only just got around to publishing it here. If it looks familiar you probably encountered it on deviantArt or the AvatarSpiritNet forum. Once I get the backlog uploaded chapters will get added here on the same schedule as the other two sites.

To give you a better sense than the really short summary, the following is basically an overgrown plot/characterization exercise exploring some of the possibilities and themes that either weren't addressed in the series, or had to be addressed only briefly or barely hinted at because of the animated medium/age demographic/time constraints. It's basically extrapolating hints from the show to the logical conclusion. And it has more or less taken over my life.

In a more specific sense, most of the timeline is Zuko-centric but the Gaang get screen-time too. I try to be fair to all the characters, but when you focus on one character for the majority of the plot it tends to overshadow the others a bit. I'm not really a "shipper" and initially I refused to include romance of _any_ flavor, but quickly realized that would needlessly limit things and stunt the characters. So you get canon relationships, but romance isn't really the focus. I have nothing against non-canon pairings (I appreciate just about anything if it's _well written_), I just don't write that myself. As I am also a reader of Fan Fic, if you recognize a plot element it's probably because I saw it somewhere else (or multiple places) and decided to play with it. Because I can.

I have been informed that disclaimers have no legal weight and are redundant on FFNet anyway, but it's traditional. So kudos to Mike and Bryan for creating an amazing world to play in, I won't pretend I own your creative property.

Comments/critiques/reviews always welcome. If you can think of a better "summary" than what I shoved into the little box, please share!

Also, this is actually the prologue, not chapter one. Sigh.

_I should be running_.

Zuko knew that, but somehow it didn't happen. He wasn't running, he was kneeling on a bridge, staring over the edge at the freezing water below. Water that, minutes ago, had come alive and plucked Admiral Zhao from the bridge. Fool. He deserved it. Yet Zuko had still tried to help him, although he couldn't have said why. He watched Zhao sink from his sight, down into the canal.

The full moon shone in the night sky above him, as though nothing had ever happened. As though nothing had threatened to upset the careful balance the spirits held over the entire world. Zuko had never considered himself an especially spiritual person, but one did not spend years in Uncle's company and not pick up on a few things.

People owed allegiance to the spirits, not the other way around. The Water Tribe might claim the Moon as their patron, but that did not mean she was unimportant to the other nations. Zuko had spent more than enough time at sea to learn that. Sailors all over the world prayed to the Moon, and gave offerings to the Ocean, so that they might return to harbor safely before setting sail on their next voyage. Then again, Zhao had never been much of a sailor. He was arrogant enough to think that the Fire Nation's superior technology had somehow tamed the natural world.

Zuko knew better.

Zhao was a fool. He deserved what he got. _Why am I still here? I should be running._

But he wasn't running. It was too late for that, anyway. All the ships had been destroyed, or pushed far out to sea. There was nowhere to run _to_, no avenue of escape. Even if he could reach a Fire Nation ship, they would not welcome him aboard. Nor Uncle… He didn't even know where Uncle had gone. He just stayed there, frozen to the bridge. His breath steamed in the frosty night air.

He was still staring over the edge, lost in his own thoughts, when they found him.


	2. Chapter 1

It had been a long night, to say the least. Dealing with the spirit world, with spiritual matters in general, usually left Aang feeling a little out of sorts, but this was different. He hoped against all odds that somehow, it was at least over. He couldn't take anything else on top of what he had already witnessed- what he himself had done.

Returning to the Spirit Oasis didn't relieve that feeling. He listened numbly as Katara recounted Yue's last mortal act. Sokka sat motionless by the pool, watching the koi flash under the water. Even Momo seemed subdued.

"We need to find Chief Arnook".

Sokka looked up in surprise, as though he hadn't even noticed Aang's return, but Katara nodded. "He needs to know what happened to Yue".

"I'll tell him."

Sokka's voice wavered a little, but Aang pretended not to notice. He was remembering the shock of finding Gyatso (a century dead to the world but not to him) in the Southern Air Temple months ago. Sokka and Katara had promised then to be his family, and that sort of bond worked both ways. He put his hand on Sokka's shoulder as they ducked through the small round door, leaving behind a place he once found tranquil and unsullied by human concerns. He could only hope the desecration would be healed by Yue's sacrifice.

They found the Chief staring absently at the moon. Sokka shrugged away Aang's hand, straightened his shoulders, and blurted out his failure.

***

"Forgive the interruption, but this cannot wait."

Kinaktok was one of Pakku's most adept students: Aang remembered seeing him at the feast their first night at the North Pole. There was nothing festive about the man's demeanor now, as he escorted them to the main hall where he had once performed in celebration.

"The majority of enemy forces retreated, though it did them little good."

"Majority?" Arnook inquired.

"We've just completed a full search of the city to find any stragglers. There weren't many, and most fought to the death rather than be captured alive."

They stopped in front of the great stairs as a group of Waterbenders and warriors entered, flanking a single figure.

"We weren't sure what to do with him. He's obviously Fire Nation, but he has no uniform or military insignia-"

But Aang didn't need any such aid to identification. He recognized the pale, snow colored clothes, the way he walked, and of course the scar. His lips pulled back off his teeth, as all three children named the prisoner in one breath.

"Zuko."

Across the great, frozen hall, Zuko's head snapped up. He hadn't been focused on much more than walking, but he knew those voices.

For a change, he managed to keep his mouth shut.

The Avatar, and his water tribe friends, stood at the base of a wide staircase made (like everything else in this frozen wasteland) of ice and snow. He ignored them for a moment, his eyes flicking across the tall Waterbender to the other man standing with them. He didn't need the fancy fur trimmings, carved beads, and claws the barbarian wore to tell him the man's importance. He was standing with the Avatar, for one thing; the other dead giveaway was the Waterbender's presence. This was the man the warriors and Benders answered to. This was the man in control of the entire Northern Water Tribe.

As he crossed the icy floor, Zuko set his jaw. _Do your worst_, he dared. _I'm not afraid of the likes of you. You'll get nothing from me_.

His composure wavered slightly when he actually reached that end of the room, as the warriors guarding him did not bother to wait for any sign of respect from their prisoner. Instead, one of them swept a spear handle into the back of his knees, knocking him to the ground at the Chief's feet. Zuko bit back an exclamation as he hit the solid ice, no doubt adding a third set of bruises (or was it a fourth?) to his already abused body. He dragged himself to a proper sitting position, an action made ridiculously more difficult than anticipated by the fact that his hands were bound behind him.

"So," Arnook intoned at last "This is the Firelord's son."


	3. Chapter 2

"Why didn't you escape with your army, Prince?

"You mean Admiral Zhao's army?" he retorted, and then could have kicked himself for saying it. Don't offer information, don't give them anything- what's wrong with me?

The Chief's eyebrows rose. He had heard that Fire Nation politics were volatile (how could they not be) but for the Prince of the Nation to speak with undisguised venom about a high ranking General in his own father's war cabinet- but the thought was cut short.

"He's lying, Chief Arnook," Sokka interrupted. "He has his own ship, and crew-"

"Had."

Again, Arnook heard an edge in that voice.

"They get tired of taking orders from a loathsome jerk?"

"That is enough, Sokka. I value your input, but this is my concern."

Sokka turned slightly pink, and bit his tongue.

"Tell me, if you weren't a part of Admiral Zhao's invasion force, what are you doing here?"

"He tried to kidnap Aang! We-"

"Sokka."

"Right. Sorry."

Arnook sighed. He had already heard a full report of the night's events- what he wanted was Zuko's reaction. He wasn't going to get one, it seemed. The scarred face was set in an expression of contempt, the gold eyes narrowed but unfocused, staring at some invisible point in the empty air between them. He did not answer the question. He didn't even acknowledge that it had been asked.

Arnook grabbed the boy's collar. "This will go better for you if you cooperate."

You mean, it will go better for _you_, Zuko thought. He gritted his teeth.

"Very well." Arnook released him and straightened.

"I already know you have a personal vendetta against Avatar Aang. I know you came here with the intention to harm him, a guest and ally of myself and my people. I know that you engaged in combat with Katara, another honored guest and daughter to the Chief of our Sister Tribe. You defiled the Spirit Oasis, and dishonorably abducted the Avatar while he was unable to defend himself. Despite these actions, he spared your life."

Arnook took a deep breath before continuing. His words fell like shards of crystal in the silent hall.

"Because of you, the Avatar was not there to protect the moon spirit. Because of you, the spirit's mortal form was killed. Because of you, my daughter sacrificed herself to bring it back!" the chief roared.

"WHAT!?" There was no malice, no contempt in Zuko's voice- only shock. Arnook was in no condition to notice.

"My daughter is dead because of you!"

_There'd been a girl with white hair, and a rather impractical coat-_

"I didn't touch her!"

He didn't consciously decide to stand, but he was, he was standing now, screaming into the Chief's stony face, wisps of steam rising from the floor around him. Accepting punishment without fear was one thing, but taking the blame for something he didn't even do was an entirely different matter. Through the fury fogging his mind he heard Sokka the water idiot yelling something about the moon spirit, and he was yelling back- Dammit, Zhao killed the moon spirit, Zuko didn't have anything to _do_ with-

"Silence!"

The icy kiss of steel against his throat killed Zuko's voice more surely than words ever could. He swallowed, and looked up into Arnook's eyes.

_Do it_.

He didn't speak, but the message was clear- and more than enough incentive for Arnook to change tactics altogether. He spun the boy around, grabbed hold of his ribbon- bound hair, and sliced.

Zuko realized Arnook's intention a moment too late. He felt the blade slide across his skull, parting the thick tail from its roots. The impact was almost physical. He slumped back to his knees, shock frozen on his face.

Arnook held the severed lock, rubbing his fingers against the red silk. He paced a few steps and then paused, considering. "Listen, well, Prince of Fire. The punishment for your actions will not be death, but life. Live, and suffer the shame of your failure."

He gestured to his warriors, and they stepped forward. "Search him."

They cut his hands free, then, but Zuko didn't move. He didn't, couldn't react as they pushed and pulled, peeling away layers of insulating silk. There were hands, too many hands holding him, the cold was seeping into his bones but he couldn't risk trying to warm himself now. It must have taken only a few seconds to strip away sash, over- vest and shirt, but it seemed an eternity later when he heard Arnook's voice ring out again.

"Stop. Release him."

Zuko held perfectly still as they let go. He couldn't feel his feet anymore. The numbness which had existed where his hands should be was replaced by small stabs of pain as circulation returned. A chill draft blew across his exposed skin, and he shivered. He felt weak, so very weak- but then, what else was new?

Every eye in the room watched him. They watched him fight to keep his face still, watched his breath cloud in short, shallow bursts. He looked smaller, thinner without the layers of bulky cloth, but Arnook's command had revealed more than that.

His entire chest was swathed in white linen bandages. More bandages spiraled up his forearms, and the skin between was mottled with bruises.

With a single fluid motion, Arnook grabbed Zuko's arm, slid his blade under the layers of wrapping, and cut it away.

Katara wasn't the only one to gasp, but she suspected she had a much more personal reason than anyone else present. After all, there could be only one source for the dark stain spreading across his chest.

_I did that. I slammed him into the ground- twice._

There were other injuries, though; older yellowing bruises and marks the color of dried blood on his neck and forearms that might have been abrasions or even burns. And on his back, jagged cuts that seemed to radiate outwards, over his shoulders and around the sides of his torso. Someone had sutured them with careful but inexperienced stitches, and the silk thread showed like grotesque adornment against his white skin.

"What is this?"

Zuko almost laughed, but he didn't have the breath. It was all he could do simply to keep his jaw still, and not chattering. The freezing air bit into him, sinking into his core, settling in. The cold made itself comfortable inside him, and he was too tired, too damn weak to chase it away.

"Look at me boy. What caused these injuries?"

Zuko couldn't have answered if he wanted to. His teeth chattered so hard he thought they would break, but it didn't matter. Nothing mattered…

Arnook shook the boy roughly by the shoulders, but Zuko's eyes were halfway closed now, his lips were blue and Arnook could all but feel consciousness draining away under his fingers.

"He's fading, Arnook."

"I can see that, Pakku." He sighed, then. "I will call a council tomorrow to decide this matter. For the moment, lock him somewhere secure. And make sure he doesn't freeze to death."

Zuko was barely conscious by the time they reached the cell. He fell on to the hard pallet, curled into a ball, and sank into oblivion.

***

Arnook let the door swing shut behind him with a muffled thud. His eyes flicked toward the window, and widened as the moonlight grew denser and took form.

.....Father......


	4. Chapter 3

Aang woke with a headache, and from the look on Katara's face, he wasn't the only one. Sokka grumbled and started to snuggle deeper into the covers, but suddenly froze as the previous night's events caught up with his sleep-fuddled brain. It didn't look like a very promising day. Sure, the Fire Nation invasion had been defeated, and they didn't have to worry about crazy Admiral Zhao anymore, but…

"When are we supposed to be at that meeting, again?"

Katara winced at the pitch of Aang's childish voice. Normally, it was a cheerful sound, one she found pleasant and comforting, but right now it just felt shrill. Maybe she should go see Yugoda. Zuko had given her a concussion, after all. He'd knocked her out cold.

_And I gave him back worse than I got._ She dragged her attention back to the present. "I'm sure Chief Arnook will send someone to find us when it's time, Aang. Don't worry."

Aang worried anyway. He understood Arnook's position, really, he did, but he couldn't stop the sinking feeling in his gut when the Chief had spoken of calling a council to decide Zuko's fate. He wasn't really sure what to feel about the situation, besides extremely uncomfortable. He didn't owe Zuko anything, and he really, really didn't like him- but that was a personal matter. Something to be settled one on one, honorably. The way most of the Water Tribe reacted made it extremely clear that they wanted to punish him as a matter of principal, a sort of "destroy all things Fire Nation" mentality that chafed at everything Gyatso had taught him.

"I'm going for a walk. I'll see you guys at the meeting, okay?"

Katara gave him a slight smile, but her heart wasn't in it and it showed. She couldn't blame him for wanting to get away for a while.

"Don't stay too long, all right?"

He nodded, already halfway out the door.

Sokka didn't feel like waiting for a messenger to come summon him. He'd sit outside the meeting room door all day if he had to, but he wasn't going to sit in his room and wait, like a child. He said as much to his sister, and she mumbled something and nodded absently, so he left. He was a warrior, not a child.

He was a warrior; he should have been stronger. He should have been able to keep her safe. Zuko may have screwed everything up, but it didn't change the fact that Sokka hadn't been there when Yue and Katara needed him. Hadn't even been there.

He stomped down the hall, nearly colliding with a door that opened suddenly in his face. He backpedaled on the ice, and regained his balance before whoever had opened (and was now closing) the door could see his clumsiness. Then the man turned, and Sokka grinned.

"Kinaktok, my good man. You're just who I wanted to see." His face grew suddenly serious as he asked "Where's the meeting house?"

The slightly startled expression on the Bender's face relaxed. "Easy, now. You've got plenty of time. Why don't you grab some breakfast first? It's bound to be a long day."

At the mention of food, Sokka's stomach growled. He wasn't sure whether to thank or curse the man for his suggestion. "Ah, you know, I just might do that. Where are you headed in such a bad mood, anyway?"

"Looking for Shesh."

"The seven foot giant built like a mole-bear?"

Kinaktok grinned briefly at the description. "That's the one. We're supposed to look in on your Firebender friend, make sure he hasn't died in the night."

"If he had, it'd solve a whole lot of problems."

"Ain't that the truth."

***

"That ought to take care of your headache, dear."

Yugoda stepped back, pulling her hands from Katara's temples. The dull ache was gone, washed away by the old woman's healing skill. Katara sighed in relief.

"I hope you've come to see me for more than just a healing session…"

Yugoda's tone was injured but playful, and mischief twinkled around her eyes. Katara smiled.

"I'm sorry I haven't been around more. Everything's been so- crazy, lately."

"So I gather. I understand you made quite an impression on that Fire Nation prince they captured."

Katara shifted in her seat. "If by "impression" you mean big fat bruise, than yes."

Yugoda's eyebrows rose, but she kept her peace, waiting for the girl to continue.

"I know I shouldn't feel sorry for him, and I don't, really, he's a horrible person and he chased us all the way from one end of the world to the other, and I'm not sorry I fought him, he deserved everything he got, but-"

"But?"

"I never hurt anyone before."

"Ah."

"It's kind of pathetic, isn't it? I came all the way here, and I had to pick a fight with Master Pakku to even get his attention, and I worked so hard learning with all the boys- I was so proud of myself. I'm better than all the other students, even Aang. And here I am coming to you for advice, after I turned my back on your kind of Waterbending-"

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that. You're a talented girl, Katara. Gifted. I have no doubt you could learn both disciplines, if you truly wanted to."

"You really think so?" Katara breathed, heart suddenly lighter.

"Katara, you've surpassed all but Pakku's most adept students in the space of a few weeks. You're a natural. Of course, learning to heal is more of an internal discipline, where learning to fight is an external one. Which brings me to the reason you came to see me."

Not for the first time, Katara marveled that Gran Gran's old friend could understand her so well after such a short time.

"They didn't ask you to take a look at him, did they?"

"I suspect they had other things on their mind. I know I did. Fortunately, I have a very competent team of healers to assist me. I did hear rumors of the boy's condition, however. Despite your own doubts just now, I hesitate to believe you could be responsible for his condition."

"I'm not, I guess. He was already hurt- I just didn't pay it any attention."

"Quite understandable. You were protecting a friend." Yugoda leaned forward in her seat and took Katara's hands into her own. "Why don't you tell me, so I don't have to rely on rumors and hearsay."

Katara took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and began. She started with the scratches on Zuko's forehead, hesitated only a little at the bruise she herself had caused, and stopped with the poorly sewn cuts on his back.

"Well," the old healer said at length, " it's always difficult to form a diagnoses at a distance. However, it would seem from your description that most of the wounds are only skin deep, and already healing. He isn't coughing up or pissing blood, is he?"

"I-don't-think so" Katara answered, suddenly uncomfortable.

"Well, then, I wouldn't be too concerned about the possibility of internal damage. He most likely would have died already if that were the case."

There was a soft knock at the door, and a man stepped through, bowing slightly to the old woman and then turning his attention to Katara.

"Chief Arnook has called the council…"

"Oh! Uh, I'm ready," she sputtered, grabbing up her coat and hastily pulling it over her head. Pushing her hood out of the way, she turned back to smile at the old woman.

"Thanks, Yugoda."

"Anytime, my dear."

***

Zuko didn't so much wake up as regain consciousness in waves. He noticed small disparate details- soft diffused light, chill air on his face, a warm even weight spread over his body. Eventually they fused together into a cohesive whole.

He was lying under a heavy fur, on a pallet, in a room made entirely of ice. No surprise, really, except for the fact that one of the walls was glowing a soft blue. There were no torches, no lamps that he could see, just that cold blue brilliance filling the cell with light. He shut his eyes and turned away, every muscle in his body protesting the motion. He ignored the pain, for the moment. He'd known the price this mission would take out on his body- there was no point grumbling about it now. True, he'd been counting on Uncle to know how to patch him up afterward…

_Uncle-_

He straightened, using the pain as a distraction to chase the thought away. There was no point speculating. With any luck, the Avatar or one of his friends would let something slip. Sokka, especially, could use a serious lesson in the art of discretion. He wouldn't put it past the idiot to come and gloat; it wouldn't be all that hard to goad the Water Tribe boy into giving something away.

Wrapping the fur around him, and trying not to think of what kind of animal it had come from, Zuko rearranged his sluggish limbs into something approximating a sitting position. The motion made him momentarily dizzy- not a good sign. It was then that he realized his head felt unusually light in quite a different way.

He'd been unconscious when the healers had shaved away his hair to treat the burn. Uncle had done his best to make it look intentional, copying an old style used by the warrior class in the distant past. He hadn't been in a position to really notice the transition, and over the years, he'd gotten used to it. This was different.

Zuko reached up behind his head and tentatively felt the short patch of hair where the tail should be. Somehow, the loss of that comforting weight at the back of his head made him feel more vulnerable, more naked, than being stripped topless.

Shivering slightly, he pulled his hand back under the thick fur. They hadn't given his clothes back, though he wasn't sure if it was intentional or merely an oversight. Whichever, it limited his options to huddling in a corner with as much of his body under cover as reasonably possible.

Obviously, the problem of not sleeping for 48 hours (give or take) had been solved, and he wasn't in danger of freezing to death unless he decided to be remarkably stupid. That left hunger and thirst as primary concerns. He'd been too nervous to eat before the attack, but he could ignore that for a while longer. The real problem was dehydration. His mouth was practically glued shut, and as he forced it open the cut in his lip split. He needed water. Badly.

The answer was practically staring him in the face. A slight, lopsided smile playing on his lips, Zuko reached out and placed his palm flat against the wall. The ice melted to liquid water under his touch, and ran down the wall in a tiny stream.

"What do you think you're doing...?"

He'd been so intent on his goal he hadn't even heard the men enter. Zuko didn't have a chance to respond before two long tendrils of water twisted around his wrists and tightened. Kinaktok pulled, and Zuko lurched forward. He landed chest down on the icy floor and hissed through his teeth as giant Shesh pinned his arms and hauled him to his feet.

"I-" he tried, but his tongue felt thick and useless. "I was-"

"What? You were what?" The Waterbender's voice was as cold as the ice surrounding them, and Zuko felt the muscles in his chest start to burn as the large warrior holding him shifted his grip, forcing Zuko's arms further behind his back. (and straining the limit of his mobility.)

"Thirsty", he managed at last.

Kinaktok's eyebrows rose, and he searched for a hint that the boy was lying, but there was none. Unconsciously, Zuko licked chapped lips, and Kinaktok gestured for his partner to let go.

Zuko felt the pressure on his arms release, but didn't relax an inch. He didn't know what these men wanted, and he wasn't about to drop his guard again.

"Thirsty." Kinaktok's voice held more than a hint of mockery. He watched the gold eyes narrow to slits, the slight flare of nostrils. As humbling as it might be to make the Prince of an enemy nation lick the walls for moisture, there was simply no point. Besides, the Chief wanted the boy alive. He unhooked a water skin from his belt, and held it out.

Zuko regarded the action warily. It was a test, one designed to make him lose. If he reached for the skin, the Bender would probably move it beyond his grasp. He folded his arms over his chest.

"Stubborn whelp, en'cha", remarked Shesh wryly, and smacked him upside the head. Zuko stumbled forward, but Shesh caught his arm before he had a chance to fall. He winced slightly as bear-strong fingers closed over bruised flesh, and hated himself for it.

Kinaktok grabbed Zuko's chin, turning his face so he couldn't hide the emotions flickering across it. "None of that, now," he said, held the rim of the open water skin to Zuko's lips, and tipped it up.

Cold, sweet water flooded his mouth, and Zuko drank. And drank. The Water Tribe mens' eyes widened as he snatched the skin out of Kinaktok's grip and drained the water skin in one long swig. Then he stood, eyes closed, gasping for air.

For a moment, Kinaktok caught a glimpse of something that looked a little like sorrow, and a lot like sheer exhaustion, before Zuko pulled himself back together. The change was instantaneous; suspicion, derision and anger snapped into place like a door slamming shut right in his face. Kinaktok blinked, but whatever it was did not return.

For a while, no one moved. Then, Kinaktok reached out and plucked the skin from Zuko's unresisting fingers.

"You need more, don't you?" Kinaktok asked quietly. Zuko didn't say anything, but he didn't have to. Kinaktok deliberated for a moment before speaking.

"Tell you what, brat. I'll make you a deal. You play nice, don't try to melt through the walls, and we'll make sure you get all the water you can drink. Something hot to eat, too, hmmm? You look like you could use it. We'll even get you some warm, clean, clothes." He replaced the skin on his belt and motioned to Shesh, who pushed Zuko toward the pallet in the corner. He opened the door and ducked through. As Kinaktok followed, he turned back, and his voice hardened to steel.

"If I see, or hear, that you've used Firebending for _any purpose at all_, I'll make you wish you'd never been born."

Zuko fell back onto the pallet as the door closed behind them. He pulled the fur around his shoulders, shivering, but not from the cold.


	5. Chapter 4

The Meetinghouse was a large circular structure near the Great Hall. Four thick pillars supported the vaulted ceiling, the carved faces of animal spirits looking out across the open space. A large oval table stood in the center of the room. As Aang entered he noticed half of the seats were already occupied, and Pakku was standing to the side with his arms folded across his chest, but there was no sign of Chief Arnook.

Aang folded his glider, and leaned it against the wall near the door. Walking hadn't done much to clear his head, and unfortunately flying hadn't either. It had instead given him a spectacular vantage point from which to view the sunken ships in the harbor- dark, hulking shadows in the crystal blue water. He sighed.

"Hey, you doin' alright?"

He looked up into Katara's concerned face and nodded. She seemed in much better spirits, but before he could ask her about it a crush of bodies pressed through the door, Sokka among them.

"Hope you two managed to get breakfast."

"Don't you ever stop thinking about food?" Katara asked, exasperated.

"Hey, Kinaktok said this could take a while. You did eat something, right?" Somehow Sokka's usual teenage appetite had morphed into concern for her well-being, and Katara couldn't think of a response. Fortunately, she didn't need to. Arnook chose that moment to arrive, and the room went dead silent.

His eyes searched the room for a moment, and settled on Aang.

"Young Avatar", he began, as if to clue him in to the formality of the situation. "If you would join me, it seems there are still a few faces missing from our council."

Aang nodded, and the trio followed the Chief to the table. The remaining members seated themselves, resuming their earlier conversations in hushed tones, waiting. It wasn't long before the door opened again, and two figures stepped through. Aang recognized Kinaktok at once, but he'd never seen the giant before. He'd have remembered.

Arnook stood, one eyebrow arching upward.

"He's alive. I highly doubt he'll try anything stupid-"

"Kinaktok's penchant for overblown, cliché threats notwithstanding," Shesh finished, and Kinaktok glared at him. Shesh didn't seem to notice. Or maybe he noticed, and just didn't care.

Arnook motioned for the two men to sit down before re-seating himself. The scraping of chairs and rustle of clothes didn't quite mask Sokka's voice as he mumbled "It just couldn't be that easy."

The council settled, and waited for Arnook to speak. Aang started to fidget in his chair, and Arnook still did not speak. Finally, he closed his eyes and shook his head, exhaling a long, slow breath.

"Many years ago, not long after my daughter was born, the spirits granted me a vision. I saw a beautiful, brave young woman _become_ the moon. Last night, that vision came to pass. I cannot set blame for that, as much I wish to." Arnook paused again, as though measuring his words before he let them leave his mouth. "Last night, I was granted a second vision. The spirit of my daughter came to see me, to say goodbye, and to act as a messenger from the Spirit World."

He could almost hear her voice, soft and familiar, yet somehow changed. It seemed to float away into the distance even as it rose to meet his ears.

_Father, I cannot stay long. Please listen. I know you're hurt, but you cannot let this pain harden your heart. I chose freely, father. I'm glad I could help my people. You gave me so much. There is only one thing I would ask of you. _

Arnook swallowed hard. "The Spirits have their own plans for this Fire Nation prince. We cannot interfere."

"Wait, Yue is protecting _Zuko_?" Sokka's voice jumped an octave on the name. He would have gone on, but Aang shushed him.

"What did she say, exactly? What kind of plans?" He already knew, no, he _understood_ why Yue's spirit would go to her father instead of coming to talk to him directly, but it made communication with the Spirit World so much harder when there was someone else acting as an intermediary. It was like a children's game, where the words spoken by the first person in the line got whispered from ear to ear, and the last person heard something completely different from what the first person said.

"She said that he is not involved by chance, and that his part is not yet played. It would seem, my young friend, that his fate has been tied to yours. For good or ill I do not know, but the Spirits are quite adamant on this point."

"Un-believable." Sokka muttered, but Aang almost couldn't hear him. The entire table exploded in a cacophony of exclamations, questions, and general outrage. Aang resisted the urge to throw his hands over his ears and waited for the din to subside. Katara wasn't so patient. She stood up from her seat, and slammed her hands down on the table so hard it shook. Pakku allowed himself a slight smile at the stunned expressions greeting her reaction, but she had silence and she had the floor.

"Don't you get it? This isn't a point of discussion. It's done already. Or do you want the Spirits angry at you for disregarding their wishes?" Pulling her hands from the table, she clasped them together and turned to Arnook. Sokka muttered something behind her back, and she whirled around again.

"What was that?"

"I said, I can't believe that you of all people would accept this. You feel sorry for him, don't you? You saw that he was hurt, and now you feel sorry for him, even though he's a total creep and attacked you."

Katara sighed. "Sokka, this has nothing to do with me. Do you remember what Gran Gran said, before we left?"

"She said I should take care of you."

Katara put her hand on his shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "She also said that we were connected to Aang. Our fates are intertwined with his, or something like that. I know you're Mr. Science-and-Reason, but even you have to admit that the odds of finding Aang when we did, how we did, are pretty darn slim."

Sokka nodded.

"You think it's coincidence that Zuko _just happened_ to be there, too? That he _just happened_ to be sailing near the South Pole on the same day we found Aang, and he_ just happened_ to be looking in the right direction when we accidentally set off that booby-trap? Of course he's part of this. The question is how, and what are we going to do about it?"

Sokka hated it when she was right. Not because she was a girl, or because she was younger, but because when Katara was right, she was RIGHT with capital letters and there were no alternatives. Also, she was his little sister, and he was supposed to act like the older (and therefore wiser) of the two. He didn't want her to be right, just now, but he had to admit it would explain a hell of a lot about the last few months. Like how Zuko had known they were going to Roku's temple, and how he'd been out in the same storm (typhoon, really) when Sokka had gone fishing with the crazy guy and almost drowned…

"So, what do we do then?" Aang's voice broke the stillness.

"Yeah, did the Spirits have specific instructions?" Sokka added.

"Only that we are not to prevent him from fulfilling his role in what is to come."

"I take it that's a "no" on locking him away forever, then."

Leave it to Sokka to cut to the chase. Katara sat down again, unnoticed, as the conversation headed in an actual, productive direction.

***

Zuko sat cross-legged, tracing circles on the floor with his finger. The fur lay tossed to one side; he was warm enough in his borrowed clothes not to need it, but he didn't think it would be a good idea to let it gather moisture from the floor. So now it was heaped on the end of the pallet, not quite close enough to touch. He was warm, fed, and rested. He suspected someone might have dosed the soup with painkillers, although he couldn't fathom why. He hitched his shoulder, and although his body still felt stiff, there was no answering sear of pain, just a tugging sort of pressure along the sutures in his back.

_Damn_.

He could wait. He could be patient, he could be calm. He didn't need help to be calm, dammit- _Uncle_-

No. He wouldn't think about that. He could be strong. He had to be. He sat up straighter, spine erect. He didn't have a candle, and he couldn't risk summoning a flame, but he could breathe. They couldn't punish him for breathing, right? He laid his hands in his lap, one over the other, with his thumbs barely touching. Just like Un- just like he'd been taught. He tried to focus on his breath, only on his breath, slow and easy, in and out.

It didn't work. His thoughts simply adapted themselves to the two-beat tempo, and now instead of swirling whispers they were chanting.

_Uncle. Uncle, where are you?_

***

Back in the meetinghouse, things hadn't made much progress. The council had decided, argued, and decided again if Aang were to have any chance defeating the Firelord before summer's end he would need to start Earthbending immediately, regardless of the fact that he still hadn't mastered Waterbending. Then of course it had been argued that if Zuko hadn't been captured, he would have logically followed the trio to the Earth Kingdom. That was the part most of the council members had problems with- trying to figure out just _what the hell the Spirits expected them to do_. Were they supposed to just let him go? No, that was unthinkable. He was a threat to the Avatar and the Avatar's mission. The Avatar was an agent of the Spirit World, the spirits couldn't possibly want the Fire Nation to _win _(one of them might, Aang muttered darkly, but only Katara heard him) so what-

"Maybe he's supposed to help us."

Sokka stared at his little sister like she'd suddenly grown a second head. "Are you _nuts_?!" he all but screamed.

Katara sighed. "You know, for someone who claims to be a rational person, you might try employing reason on occasion."

"She's right." Aang added, his eyes bright and hopeful. "We know Yue is our friend, she's on our side. If Yue is worried Zuko won't fulfill his destiny, it must be because he does something that helps _us_, not his father."

"Zuko hates you."

"I didn't say he'd have a miraculous change of heart, switch sides and become a hero, Sokka. He's accidentally helped us before."

"Yeah? When?"

"The pirates, for one." Aang actually had a far different incident in mind, but was curiously reluctant to come clean about the fever-curing frog incident in front of the most powerful figures in the Northern Water Tribe. Fortunately, Sokka seemed willing enough to accept the substitute. He made a face (Sokka made _great_ faces) drummed his fingers on the table and then froze. A sudden, brilliant smile lit up his face, reaching up into his eyes and filling them with a glow that Aang found reassuringly familiar.

"I got it! All we have to do, is take Zuko to the Earth Kingdom General, this Fong guy you were talking about. He shuts Zuko away, we go to Omashu so Aang can learn Earthbending from Bumi, and if we end up needing Zuko later we know right where to find him. It's the perfect solution!"

Pakku looked at him, eyebrows high. "That's actually not such a bad idea…"

"You don't have to sound so surprised."

It was one thing to decide on a course of action, but quite another to sit in the meetinghouse for several hours discussing the logistics of that choice. After an interminable length of time, all the members of the council finally stopped arguing in circles and reached an accord. The trio of friends stumbled out into the corridor, slightly surprised to find the sun still in the sky.

"Ok, now we get something to eat. Seriously."

Katara laughed, and Aang smiled. It had been a long day, and it wasn't over yet, but things were starting to look up. Katara wrapped her arms around the two boys, sandwiching herself between them, and they set off down the hall.

Things were definitely looking up.


	6. Chapter 5

"Done".

Sokka dusted his hands and stepped back to survey his handiwork. It had taken a while to retrofit the Water Tribe vessel to the needs of their upcoming voyage, but it was finally finished. Now, besides the usual arrangement of rooms and holds, it boasted a genuinely fire-proof cell, courtesy of metal sheeting salvaged from sunken enemy vessels, and crowned with Sokka's new lock. It wasn't pretty, but it worked. And how.

It may have been Sokka's own idea to bring Zuko with them to General Fong, but he'd be damned before giving the bastard even the slightest chance of hurting his sister or his best friend _ever again_. Plus, the irony of using Fire Nation steel just made it that much better.

He slammed the bolt home, smiling in grim satisfaction.

***

"Better."

Aang beamed at the unexpected praise. Pakku was a tough taskmaster, especially now that he had agreed to train the boy one-on-one. Unsurprisingly, following the decision to help the Southern Tribe rebuild, Pakku had chosen Kinaktok as his replacement. The younger man was now in charge of instructing all the other students, with the notable exception of Katara. She had cornered her Bending Master after The Big Meeting, and informed him that she intended to take advantage of Yugoda's wisdom until they set sail, and that he could resume her combative training _then_.

It was a measure not only of Katara's well-deserved (and growing) reputation, but also of Pakku's new-found tolerance and respect that he not only agreed, but seemed genuinely enthusiastic that she explore the absolute limits of her abilities.

Of course, it was also possible he just wanted to kick Aang's butt for hours on end without the possibility of Katara's inherently protective nature waking up and interfering. Either way, Katara was happy, and Aang was making far better progress than previously.

He was also too exhausted to worry about the upcoming voyage.

***

"Like this?"

"Quite. Now, keep hold of the energy, and move it along the meridians of the body. It should flow smoothly. Keep a steady pace, not too fast or too slow."

Katara watched the ice blue glow creep along the dummy, her mind relaxed and calm. There was a lot to learn, and now that she'd started, she didn't think she be able to make much progress before having to leave. At the same time, she'd learned so much in the past few days alone, it was hard to keep all the information in her head…

"You can go a bit faster, dear. Just as long as you can feel the flow."

"It doesn't feel like anything."

Yugoda chuckled. "That's because you're moving your own chi along unfeeling wood. In a human body, that patient's chi will react to yours. It might feel sticky, or rough. Some people perceive injuries as spots of heat in otherwise cool energy. Whatever you feel, pay attention. If the person is perfectly healthy, their chi will cooperate with your own instead of resisting."

"So, if they feel like the dummy, they aren't hurt."

"Exactly so."

"This is a lot harder than fighting."

Yugoda laughed again. "Of course it is, dear. Why else would it be considered a _woman's_ art?"

***

Zuko ran a hand through the stubble on his head. The past few days had been quiet, but somehow that had only made his anxiety worse. Just because they hadn't hurt him didn't mean they _wouldn't_. True, the Waterbender hadn't returned, but the giant came "to check in" at least once a day. He never offered information, and it was unthinkable for Zuko to ask the question he'd shoved to the back of his mind since the Chief had "spared" his life. (What life?)

Actually, there were _two_ questions, but as much as he suspected the burly warrior was actually hiding his intelligence behind a "dumb enforcer" persona, he still wouldn't know what had happened to Uncle. Maybe the Avatar-

He cut the thought off. The Avatar didn't know. He would have said something already- enemy or not, Zuko had a pretty good sense of the child's honor. Which was more than he could say for some of his father's highest-ranking officers. Unfortunate, that.

Then again, he'd never exactly been Fortune's favorite.

***

"I can't believe we're leaving tomorrow," Aang breathed.

"I can't believe Pakku carved a new betrothal necklace for Gran Gran."

"He did? That's so sweet. I bet she'll love it."

"I'm surprised you didn't know already, but I guess you've been busy."

Katara gave a knowing little smirk. She had been spending almost all of her time with Yugoda, but not necessarily _training_. Sometimes her lessons got a little sidetracked, and it wasn't any of Sokka's business what was said in confidence between friends.

There were some things guys just didn't need to know.

"Hey, you think anyone told Zuko?" Aang showed concern with his whole body, not just his face, so it wasn't surprising that Momo picked up on it and pawed at his boy's arm.

"Nah."

"But Sokka, isn't that mean?"

"It's safer this way, Aang. If he doesn't know what's going on he can't make up some crazy plan and screw everything up."

Aang scratched Momo's head until the lemur relaxed and began to purr. "Yeah, that makes sense."

"You bet it does," Sokka retorted, and then winced at is came out far harsher than he'd meant. "Don't worry so much. It'll be okay. You'll see."

Katara hit him over the head with a pillow. "Okay, both of you need to knock it off. We're doing the right thing, and there's absolutely no reason to get all paranoid. Besides, it's late. We really ought to get some sleep."

"Yes, mother," both boys chorused, and Katara's reaction sent them all off into an epic pillow fight, causing Momo to fly to the rafters and watch from a safe distance. After a few minutes all three friends settled down, watching feathers float through the air like snowflakes. Sokka had stolen his sister's pillow (it was fluffier) and Katara grumbled good naturedly about having to use Sokka's (which had been beaten flat and had no feathers left).

In the end, Aang ended up switching pillows with her (he hadn't been using a pillow recently anyway), and everyone said their goodnights. Momo watched the three figures until they relaxed into slumber, and then curled up on Aang's chest. Tucking his head under the tip of his striped tail, the lemur let the gentle rise and fall lull him to sleep.

***

Zuko didn't even look up as the door opened and the familiar hulking figure stepped through. The same thing happened every morning- he knew the routine.

Shesh regarded the boy curiously. He had to admit that Kinaktok's threat, no matter how overblown, seemed to have worked. At least, it had allowed him to reach a kind of unspoken agreement with the sullen teen. Zuko did what he was told, and Shesh didn't have to, well, _manhandle_ him. How the Waterbender had known a vague peril would be more effective than a concrete one- well, the evidence for that was written all over Zuko's body. Anyone who would pick a fight with Katara while already injured obviously knew how to prepare himself for the accompanying pain- it was the _unknown_ he couldn't deal with.

"You hungry or not?"

Zuko looked up briefly, and accepted the bowl without comment, as usual. Then he realized Shesh was also holding out a fresh set of clothes- no, they were _his_ clothes, washed and neatly folded.

"You have an hour to get ready."

Zuko's eyes narrowed. "Ready for what?"

"To go."

Shesh dropped the clothes on the pallet and exited, leaving Zuko's head spinning.

_Go?_ Go _where_? Why?

Zuko set the bowl aside, stroking his fingers over the soft grey silk. He couldn't be sure if they were trying to set him at ease by returning his own, familiar clothes, or if there was some other reason, and they didn't want him wearing Water Tribe blue for whatever came next.

He didn't care what they did to him, he could take it- if they'd just _tell_ him-

When Shesh returned, he was slightly surprised to note that not only was Zuko dressed and ready to go (he'd expected that much) but the boy had apparently made the bed as neat as possible and folded the borrowed clothes as well. Considering the circumstances, it was downright weird behavior. Then again, Shesh got the feeling the boy wasn't quite right even by the standards of his own people, who were admittedly insane to begin with. No helping that, he supposed. And sighed. Might as well get it over with.

Zuko winced slightly as the leather cord bit into his wrists, but the warrior was focused on the task at hand and didn't notice. Satisfied the knot would hold, he dropped Zuko's arms, placed one large hand against the back of the boy's neck, and propelled him forward. It didn't help that the giant's fingers went nearly all the way around his throat. He could probably break Zuko's neck with one hand… _Not helping- think about something else. Anything else._

Zuko didn't remember the path they were taking, but if it was the same way he'd been brought, he wouldn't have been able to remember it anyway. Too many turns and passageways, and they all looked the same. Finally, Shesh pushed him out into the sunlight, and he stopped involuntarily, blinking until his eyes could adjust to the brightness. Shesh waited for a moment before pushing him forward again. Zuko kept his gaze on the path before his feet, trying to avoid the glare of morning sun on ice. When he finally looked up, he was shocked to see they were headed toward the harbor, and more specifically to a large, unusually designed ship.

It looked a bit like a giant outrigger canoe, but also not, because of the sails. One thing was for sure- it was a transport vessel, meant to carry people long distances in a short amount of time.

_Where are you taking me? And why?_

Once they reached the ship proper, Shesh transferred custody to two men Zuko didn't recognize, and as they led him down into the ship he realized there was no way on earth the giant could have fit in the wooden passageways.

At last, they reached the end of the hall and one of the men tugged open a door and shoved Zuko inside. He had a split second to take in his surroundings before one of the men sliced through the cord binding his wrists at the same time as the second man snapped something cold and heavy around them. He looked up, but the men were already leaving. The door slammed shut in his face, and he heard a bolt slide home.

He sank to the floor, staring at his hands and the thick shackles locked around his wrists. The floor was covered in metal, all the walls were covered in metal, and so was the ceiling.

_They stripped the Fleet. _

Zuko tugged at the chain; there was enough "play" that he could still use both hands freely, and he could almost reach the door.

_Shit._

He wanted to scream. He wanted to lash out, break something, smash it into unrecognizable shards, he almost breathed fire- and caught himself.

He didn't know if the men had actually left, because the Water Tribe wore soft leather boots that muffled their footsteps. They could be waiting outside the door, listening. Obviously, something in the situation had changed but he didn't know what or why, and he wasn't going to risk the possibility that although the giant wasn't in the picture anymore, the Waterbender could very well still be a major player.

_SHIT_.

What had he done wrong? He'd followed the rules they set down, cooperated, _dammit I did what you wanted, you bastards_. They couldn't just change the rules on him like this- what the hell did they WANT-

Stop. Breathe. He couldn't afford to panic, he had to keep his wits. He had to stay calm, he couldn't risk losing control while was still

-injured.

He was healing. Getting stronger. He held his hands out in front of his body as the realization sank in. It wasn't what he'd _done,_ but what he _was_. The Firelord's son. Firebender. Able to hold his own against the Avatar. _Threat_.

For the first time since getting captured, it occurred to Zuko that the Water Tribe might very well be scared of him. That was why they had sent a _Master Waterbender_ and the _most physically intimidating man Zuko had ever seen_, to make sure he would "behave".

It was almost flattering, really, that they thought he was so dangerous. Or it would have been, if Zuko wasn't painfully aware of his many failings and weaknesses, and the fact that it had led them to conclude it was necessary _to chain him to the wall in a little metal box._

He curled forward against his knees, and if anyone listening wasn't sure if he was laughing or crying, Zuko couldn't have clarified the issue.

***

The mid morning sun sparkled on the harbor, and Aang took a deep breath to clear his head. He liked mornings, unlike Sokka who was definitely more of a stay-up-late-and-sleep-until-noon kind of guy. Katara, as far as he could tell, was one of those very rare types who loved the night but could still wake up and be fully functional at an early hour. Most days, anyway. She grinned at him past Sokka's usual sleep- muddled morning face, the ocean breeze playing with the little loopies in her hair.

He couldn't believe they were leaving. In a couple of weeks, they'd be back in Omashu with his friend Bumi. He'd miss the North Pole, and all the amazing people he'd met. He'd miss Yue.

He wouldn't miss the food that much, though, and he wondered vaguely if Water Tribe sea-fare was different from the usual kind. With any luck, it was worse. One more reason he was excited about the prospect of getting back to the Earth Kingdom. Momo chittered, and the three friends turned to see Chief Arnook approaching. They didn't have a long time for goodbyes; even with a contingent of trained Waterbenders it was still best to catch the tide. Aang was slightly surprised when Arnook pressed a long, wrapped object into his hand.

"I wasn't sure what to do with this, but all things considered I think it's best if you keep hold of it."

Aang pulled away the covering to reveal a green Earth Kindgom knife with a matching sheath. He looked up, confused.

"The Firebender was carrying that. I'm not sure if it has any significance…"

"Better safe than sorry. Thank you." Aang wrapped the knife again and tucked it away. Farewells ended, the trio trooped aboard Pakku's ship, waving furiously to everyone still on the dock. The assembled Waterbenders, Kinaktok at the lead, filled the locks and opened a tunnel to let the vessel pass through the newly- restored Wall, giving his former Master a respectful salute before he was swept out of sight.

The open sea lay before them, and with it, a world of possibilities.


	7. Chapter 6

Katara was armed.

She had knowledge, she had impressive Waterbending abilities, she had a satchel filled with medical supplies. She had set her mind, and everyone knew that when Katara set her mind to something she got it done. Period.

Her footsteps were light but determined, her face smiling but resolute. She nodded to the guard, and he reached out to unlock the door.

"You sure about this?"

"Absolutely. I can handle him on my own, thank you."

He gave a little shrug and opened the cell. Katara stepped through without hesitating, taking in the scene before her.

The room was fairly small, four or five of her own strides deep and maybe three wide. Every surface had been plated in salvaged sheet-metal, forming a patchwork outlined by mismatched rivets. A single lamp hung by the door. In the corner to her left she saw a narrow futon piled with blankets, and halfway up the wall a thick square panel with a very solid ring, holding an equally solid chain.

Zuko was sitting on the edge of the mattress, knees drawn up, head down. His hair was starting to grow in, and for the first time she realized the scar extended into his hairline. _That explains the 'do_, she thought absently, but didn't have time for further ruminations before he noticed her and looked up.

Gold eyes met blue, and she swallowed. Maybe this hadn't been such a great idea after all.

"Look who's come to visit."

Katara forced herself to ignore the tension building between her shoulder blades.

"What do you want, _princess_?"

She took a deep breath. It would take more than words to make her back down. If he wanted a battle of wills, she could match him blow for blow. Unfortunately, he'd already put her on the defensive. Maybe if she used reason to combat emotion…

"The stitches. In your back? They need to come out before they make things worse instead of better."

"Oh, so you're a _healer_ now, as well."

Katara's eyes narrowed to slits, and she straightened her posture. She was not going to let him intimidate her. "Yes, I am a Healer."

Zuko didn't move. Something about the way he was sitting, and the wariness in his eyes, seemed more animal than human. Like he was a wild creature caught in a trap, instead of a person. Caught in a trap and waiting for the hunter to deliver the kill-stroke.

"It's all right. I can help-"

"All right?" he asked, his voice dangerously quiet.

Without warning, he stood up, and jerked his hands as far apart as they could go, snapping the chain taught with an audible "clank".

"DO I LOOK LIKE I'M ALL RIGHT?!" he shouted, his face contorted in barely contained fury. Katara stepped back, and of course from there it could only get worse.

By the time she reached the door to the friends' shared quarters her heart rate had returned to normal and it wasn't quite as hard to breathe. She'd been furious, and hurt, but that was fading. She sniffed a little, and hitched her satchel back up onto her shoulder. It was her own fault. She should have realized it wouldn't be that easy.

Aang looked up as she entered, and his eyes widened as he saw the telltale puffiness around her eyes. She shook her head- _Don't say anything. Sokka will freak_.

"That didn't take lo- What HAPPENED!"

Too late. Sokka had seen her upset too many times not to recognize the aftermath.

"It's nothing. I'm fine."

"No you're not. I'm flattening that jerk into a griddlecake."

_Nobody hurts my sister._

"Sokka, wait-"

She grabbed his arm, and scrubbed at her still-wet eyes with the other hand.

"I need to talk to you. Gimme a minute to calm down, okay?"

Katara sank into a chair, and smiled weakly as she felt a blanket draped over her shoulders. Aang was thoughtful that way. He always seemed to know what would make her feel better.

"Okay, _now_ do you want to explain what happened?"

"Nothing happened, Sokka. Not really. It's just- he's really messed up."

"We already knew that."

"No, I mean he's hurt that we thought he was a complete psycho who'd try to kill us all in our sleep."

"I hate to break it to you, but he is."

"No, he's not. He's a soldier, Sokka."

"What's the difference? Oh no, I get it. Nothing he does is his fault because he's just following orders, right?"

Katara sighed. Sokka was such a _blockhead_. "He's supposed to help us, remember? Maybe we shouldn't keep giving him reasons to hate us- more than he already does," she amended quickly, recognizing Sokka's expression and beating him to the punch.

"That was your _theory_, anyway. You could be wrong, you know. Just because you feel sorry for him-"

"Excuse me?! I do _not_ "feel sorry" for him, you-"

"Alright, enough already." Aang had to physically stand between the siblings to stop them. "What did he say, really?"

"That I was a manipulative bitch for offering to heal him when my real motivation was helping train a twelve year old to kill his father. Which is a slightly different subject, now that I think about it, but he's still hurt we think he's a monster."

She looked up at the ceiling for a moment, completely missing the identical expressions of shock and horror on the boys' faces. "You know, I think he might have been mixed up about some of that. Like I reminded him of someone else…"

"I have to talk to him."

Katara leveled her head. She knew that tone. It was the same one he'd used out on the glacier when he decided to bring Zuko back with them.

"Aang, I'm not sure this is the best time. He's probably still really angry, maybe you should wait-"

"No. That will only make it worse. I have to talk to him _now."_

"Not alone you don't" Sokka retorted, and Katara had to agree.

Aang sighed dramatically. "Okay, fine. But you have to promise to let me do the talking."

The chains prohibited Zuko from crossing his arms, so he wrapped them around his torso instead. It had _almost_ the same effect.

_Your move, runt_.

But the Avatar wasn't interested in playing games. He just started talking, like he was picking up a conversation that had been interrupted. _Now let's see, where were we_?

"Zuko, I don't want to kill him." _I don't even want to fight him. I don't want to fight anybody._

"Too bad he won't give you that choice."

"What about you?"

"I never tried to kill you."

"That's not what I meant."

Something flickered in Zuko's eyes, but he didn't relax, and he didn't say anything. Aang sighed.

"We're going to the Earth Kingdom, okay?"

"I figured that out on my own, thanks."

Aang winced slightly. "Yeah, I guess we should have told you sooner. But that's what's happening, so no worries, okay?"

"Why?"

"I need to see a friend."

Zuko rolled his eyes. "Not _you_." _Idiot_. "Why are you taking _me_?"

Aang thought fast. They couldn't tell him the truth. He wouldn't believe the truth.

"You'd rather freeze your butt off at the North Pole?"

"I'm supposed to believe you're acting with my interests at heart? Nice try. Your girlfriend was more convincing, but I could still tell she was lying. You want something from me. I don't care what it is, but you're not going to get it."

"Practice."

Three heads turned to stare at Katara. Aang wasn't even angry she'd broken their agreement, just utterly confused by the seeming non-sequitor.

"You want to know what I get out of this? I get practice. You get to be healed, _for free._ No tricks, no strings."

"I don't believe you", he muttered, but he didn't sound very sure of himself.

"Believe whatever you want." Jerk. "I gave you an offer. Take it or leave it."

There was nothing in her face to suggest it was a trick, but he still hesitated. It couldn't be real. He'd learned the hard way that things that sounded too good to be true always were. On the other hand, he didn't exactly have anything to lose, and he was completely at their mercy anyway.

"Fine."

Katara wasn't sure she'd heard right. It wasn't even the word that surprised her, but the inflection. _He sounds… resigned_?

"I didn't quite catch that, sorry."

Katara closed her eyes. Sokka had the worst knack for making smart remarks at just the wrong time.

"I said I'll do it. I'll- let you."

Katara grabbed her brother's arm before he could open his mouth again, pushing him out the door.

"Not another word, Sokka." She hissed. "Go find me a stool or something."

"Why?"

"Because it will be easier for me to work on his back if he's sitting and I'm standing."

Sokka rolled his eyes and grabbed a stool from the hall. The guard (who had apparently just stood up to stretch his legs) reached out as though to snatch it back, but subsided when Katara beat him to it.

"I'll give it back later, I promise."

She smiled winningly, hugging the stool to her chest.

"I'm gonna hold you to that."

She ducked back inside and set the stool down, her face all business.

"Aang?"

"Yes?"

"I need room to work. It's a little crowded in here."

Finally taking the hint, Aang grinned, and followed Sokka down the hall. Katara closed the door, and turned back to face Zuko. His good eye looked a little wider than usual, as if he was suddenly wondering just what he'd agreed to.

An hour and a half later, Katara was still pulling bits of silk thread out of Zuko's back with ouzel-bone tweezers. She had discovered several things during that time. One was that Zuko took "suffer in silence" to lengths even hardened warriors like her father would regard as down right unnatural. Also, he was ridiculously well-muscled, which probably shouldn't have been a revelation but still hit her like one.

Thank the Spirits he wasn't body-shy, though, because any awkwardness on his part would have caused extreme embarrassment on hers. It was bad enough having to ask a guy she absolutely despised to remove his shirt- even if the shackles prevented him from doing so completely.

Most important, though, was the realization that whoever had patched him up didn't have the slightest idea how stitches were supposed to work. Given how much trouble she was having getting them out (and how much effort Zuko took not to react as she removed them) she was beginning to suspect he must have been unconscious when they'd been put in. She must have accidentally said something about it, because Zuko mumbled, more than a bit defensively:

"Uncle did the best he could."

Katara almost couldn't believe her ears. He was talking to her. She needed to be careful, now. One wrong word and he'd close up again.

"I'm sure he did. It would help if I knew what caused these injuries."

_And why you didn't see a real Healer._

She felt him tense under her hands.

"I, uh, I got thrown out a window."

She looked at the jagged cuts, imagining the old man from the Spirit Oasis picking pieces of glass out of Zuko's back and trying to sew him back together. Trying to make him whole again.

She wondered where the old man had gone. He'd been so concerned, so understanding; it was hard to imagine that he was related to Zuko. Then again, it was hard to imagine she'd ever be talking to the scarred prince as he patiently endured her fumbling attempts to remove equally fumbled sutures. And yet, here they were. And his answers were only giving her more questions.

"Thrown out a window how? Why?"

Zuko didn't say anything for a while, and she started to worry she'd pushed too hard, but it was a "consider your words before speaking" kind of thing, not a "stubbornly refusing to talk" kind of thing. His words, once found, weren't at all what she expected.

"Remember when you stole that scroll from the pirates?"

How could she forget? Unconsciously, her left hand went up to the carved stone pendant at her throat.

"You stole their ship, and crashed it over a waterfall." Zuko craned his neck around to face her. "They decided it was my fault."

"The pirates did this?"

He turned away again, so she couldn't see the bitter smile twisting his face.

"Not for free."

Of course. Even pirates would think twice about attacking Fire Nation royalty, unless they had adequate compensation. Which begged the question, who would pay-?

_Zhao. _

She could see the power-mad Admiral's face, smug and condescending as he held Tui's mortal form in a burlap sack. Her hands rose to cover her mouth, remembering the events at Avatar Roku's island. She'd thought Zuko was a rival, but with the added perspective of time she realized Zhao had not treated him as anything more than an inconvenience, to be subdued and restrained. _He chained you to one of the pillars. I didn't think about it, because it didn't make sense. It still doesn't make sense._

"Hey, you done or what?"

"Uh, not yet."

She forced herself to focus. There would be time to investigate later, right now the whole world consisted of silk thread and bruised flesh. Finally, she tugged the last bit free, and un-stoppered her water pouch. The liquid flowed around her hand and as she reached inside to summon the source of her Healing abilities it glowed brilliant ice blue.

Zuko caught the light out of the corner of his eye, turned his head, and blanched. He jerked away from her, knocking the stool over in the process, and stood with his arms half raised in front of his chest, staring at the liquid covering her hand.

Katara looked down and the water returned to normal. Belatedly, she realized that between Aang in the Avatar State, and the giant spirit-fish-monster which had attacked the Fire Nation Fleet, "things that glowed" probably equaled very bad news in Zuko's eyes.

"Zuko?"

"_You_ did that. You made the light."

"It's how I Heal. It's just water. Harmless water that I put my energy into. The glow is chi. It's perfectly safe."

He looked up from the water into her eyes.

"How much experience do you have with this, exactly?"

Great. _Now_ he decides he doesn't want to cooperate. She sighed. "I've used this on myself. I've used it on _Aang_. It works. Now sit down again."

Zuko hesitated.

"It's just _water_, Zuko. The human body is mostly water, that's why I can use it to heal."

"You're going to Bend… _me_…?"

"No." Was that even possible? "I'm just- _encouraging_- your body to do what it would on its own. Like setting a broken bone so it heals straight." There was something off about that comparison…

Zuko didn't seem to notice. He took a deep breath, lowered his arms, and nodded. Barely. He'd agreed to let her do whatever-the-hell-it-was she was doing. He couldn't back out now.

Katara righted the stool, and Zuko sat down again. He tensed slightly as the water brightened, but didn't move. Katara leaned forward, and placed her hands against his back. She closed her eyes and felt for the currents of energy running under his skin.

…_the patient's chi will react to yours…it might feel sticky_…

"Sticky" didn't begin to describe it. Katara felt like she was wading through knee-deep mud, thick clinging filth that threatened to pull her under if she didn't keep her momentum. Taking the metaphor as a starting point, she began to visualize washing it all away.

Zuko gasped as the water touched his skin. It didn't feel cold, as he'd expected, but it wasn't warm either. It just-_was_- and everywhere it passed the hurt went away. Not numbed, like painkillers; the pain just didn't exist anymore, because the injury didn't exist anymore. The half-healed cuts on his back faded to pale scars, and the bruises disappeared completely.

Katara pushed her hands up along his spine, out over his shoulders and down his arms, soothing away weeks of tension alongside the physical damage. Zuko's head slumped forward, and his breathing slowed. Taking one arm in both hands, Katara smoothed away the rust-colored scabs, leaving soft, new skin in its place. Then the other arm, and his eyes were closed.

She followed the meridians on his body, unblocking any obstacle she came across. She felt rather than saw the sites of his injuries, tracing the flow of chi. The ugly bruise which had so concerned her took mere seconds to heal, despite its lurid appearance. Satisfied he had no broken ribs, she moved up, past his chest to his neck, and from there to his face. She passed her hand over his right eye, over his nose, and down to the abrasion on his jaw. There was still one obstruction left, she could feel it choking the energy. Following the now familiar sensation, she reached up-

And choked back a scream as fingers closed around her wrist. Zuko's eyes snapped open, and she realized he held her hand _just_ above the scar on his face.

_When did I let my guard down?_

The thought could have belonged to either one of them, if not both. Then the shock on Zuko's face turned into something more familiar, and his lips curled back from his teeth.

"Don't. Ever. Try that again," he hissed, and pushed her away.


	8. Chapter 7

Katara didn't usually hide things. If she was angry, or upset, it showed. Sometimes, though, she managed to swallow it down. Hide it, from herself and everyone around. She wasn't sure what prompted the reaction. It wasn't healthy; it only made things worse when she finally broke down. But sometimes, like now, she just couldn't drag the pain into the light. It would have to wait. It was nobody's business but her own, after all, and Katara could take care of herself.

She kept her cool, pushing the anger to the back of her mind. She managed to heal her wrist without Sokka seeing, thankful for the camouflage provided by her wrist-wraps. She could only imagine his reaction to the bruise, each of Zuko's fingers distinctly outlined on her skin.

She made herself tea, and went to bed early. There was no need to tell anyone what happened. It was her concern, and she would fix it. There was a good chance that time and a good night's sleep would take care of it for her. If Aang threw a speculative glance in her direction, well, she was just tired. That's all. Just tired.

But sleep only made it worse. She couldn't remember her dreams, but they hadn't been pleasant. She felt out of sorts, awkward in her own skin. The anger hadn't gone away. It had grown, like a pot left forgotten until it began to boil over. The lethargy in her limbs, which she normally would have ignored or put down to sleeping in an unfamiliar bed, was today directly identified as a side effect of Healing the Jerk.

She snapped at her brother when he asked how she'd slept, and then at Aang when he asked if she wanted his sea prunes at breakfast, even though she knew how much he hated them and they had turned that fact into a familiar morning ritual.

Master Pakku quirked at eyebrow at her aggression during morning practice, and then suggested that unless she _intended_ to throw Aang over the edge of a fast moving ship perhaps it was better if he trained the Avatar alone. She bit back a witty retort of her own and stomped downstairs. Stupid Zuko. Stupid bruise. Stupid scar. Stupid, stupid jerk.

What difference did it make that he was hurt? It wasn't her fault! All she'd done was knock him down and give him a bruise. A tiny, piddling nothing of a bruise that had already been fading to dull greens and yellows before she wasted her time-

How dare he?! She had put her own energy into helping him (rather a lot of it, actually) only to be summarily rejected for her kindness. After everything she'd done for him, out of the goodness of her heart, how could he just-

_Aaauuuugh._

She hated him. She hated every little thing about him. And even if it killed her, he was going to know it. She reached the bottom of the staircase, her irritation escalating to justifiable anger, and then to righteous fury. By the time she reached the end of the narrow hall, Katara had been replaced by a Physical Embodiment of Divine Wrath.

The guard caught sight of her expression, and bit back the remark he'd been saving. It wasn't really _that_ big of a deal that he'd had to recover the stool himself. Avoiding eye contact, he stepped aside as she slammed the bolt and yanked the door open.

Zuko was sitting cross-legged on the floor, hands in his lap. His eyes flicked up as she entered, and then looked away again.

Katara snapped. After everything else, he had the nerve to ignore her.

"What the hell is wrong with you? We didn't have to bring you back with us, you know. We could have left you behind to freeze to death, but we didn't. Makes no difference to you. We tried to help you- _I_ tried to help you. For what? You're nothing but an ungrateful, miserable bastard. Do you even have the _slightest_ idea what it takes out of me to Heal like that? Of course not. Why should you? You probably think you're _entitled_. You're Fire Nation, you think you're better than everyone else. Well you're wrong. How dare you?! I guess I shouldn't be surprised, after you spent the last_ three months _following us, "hunting the Avatar", trying to capture the worlds last hope for peace! But what do you care. You're the Firelord's son. Spreading war and violence and hatred is in your _blood_."

Zuko looked up, and opened his mouth as though trying to say something, but Katara was too angry to stop and listen. She just ran him over, the crush of words spilling from her lips in a torrent of pain.

"Do you have any idea what this war has put me through? Me, personally. As if it's not enough that you showed up, and attacked my whole village and threatened my _grandmother_, your sick, power-hungry army took my mother from me. The Fire Nation took my mother from me…"

Her voice trailed off and she swallowed, trying to dislodge the lump in her throat.

Zuko watched the tears roll down her face, dripping from her chin. Her hand rose to the carved stone on her necklace. After a few moments he decided she wasn't going to start yelling at him again.

"You think you're the only person to be hurt by the war?"

His voice was oddly soft, but the words still cut her. She stared at him, blue eyes glistening with unshed tears. He met her gaze evenly, his face unreadable.

"Everyone… has lost something."

_Or someone._

He looked down again, and somehow Katara couldn't summon even the slightest hint of irritation, much less rage.

She didn't notice that he held his head a little to the right, hiding the whole side of his face from her scrutiny. The scar was immobile. It could not show emotion, even involuntarily. His left eye no longer possessed the capability to produce tears. He wouldn't let her get close again. If they knew how vulnerable he really was…

No. He wouldn't let her get that close again. She had already proven that she wasn't above- taking advantage- while his defenses were down. He closed his eyes, breathing in through his nose, and out through his mouth. By the time he opened them again, she was gone.

Katara wandered down the corridor, slightly surprised when she arrived back at her own quarters. Aang was waiting there, a pensive expression on his face. Momo was draped around his shoulders.

"Feel better now you let it all out?"

Katara nodded, wondering at Aang's innocent expression.

"How did you know-?"

He grinned. "Hey, it's you. The girl who started a fight with the most powerful Waterbender in the North Pole- and probably the whole world- to get him to take her on as a student. I figured you'd just take care of it for yourself."

"Thank you."

"He's still in one piece, though, right? 'cause we do still kind of need him."

Katara bit her lip and then laughed ruefully.

"Yeah. He, uh, actually gave me something to think about."

Aang wrapped an arm around her waist and guided her up to the deck. Fresh air was good. It cleared your head, kept you awake.

"Why don't we find your brother and figure out what to do about all this, huh?"

Sokka had been slightly concerned by Katara's earlier mood, but when he saw her leaning against the railing with Aang he knew everything was okay again.

"You two look like you're plotting something."

"Maybe we are."

"Would it have anything to do with you screaming at his royal jerkness earlier?"

Katara had the grace to blush. Now that the incident had passed, it was slightly embarrassing to think that Zuko had gotten under her skin so thoroughly. She wasn't about to let Sokka know just how badly she'd messed up the day before- thank the Spirits she hadn't mentioned anything about her arm in her tirade.

"You-heard?"

"I'm pretty sure the entire _ship_ heard. Pakku's just finally stopped laughing. Of course, the words were pretty incoherent, but the intention was pretty-uh-hard to miss?"

He leaned against the railing beside then, leaning over to bump his sister with his shoulder, just a little. "You gonna let me in on the conspiracy or what?"

"It's more food for thought, really."

"Do tell."

"Well, I've been thinking we don't really know that much about him. Or the Fire Nation, for that matter. Just now, after I yelled at him, he said that everyone has lost something to the war. It made me remember something else he'd said, about trying to regain lost honor."

"Well that explains a lot."

Both siblings turned to look at Aang, surprised.

"It does?"

"Oh, yeah. Honor is a very big thing in the Fire Nation. Saving face can be more important than the value of a person's life. I don't know how things are now, but my friend Kuzon told me once that there used to be a ritual suicide meant to cleanse the stain of dishonor from one's self and family. I can't remember what it's called, but it sounded pretty gross."

Sokka made a face. "Let me guess. It involves fire." He spread his fingers to simulate flames.

"Actually, no. Honor doesn't discriminate between Benders and non-Benders. I think the ritual is different for men than woman, though."

"Okay, that's creepy _and_ insane."

"It's also completely off-topic and not helpful."

"You're the one who asked about honor, Katara. I was just trying to explain how- Oh." Aang's eyes went very, very wide, and he stepped back. "Oh, snap."

"Aang, what is it?"

"Please don't be mad at me. I wanted to tell you sooner, I really should have told you sooner-"

"Told us what, Aang?"

"Remember when both of you got sick, and I went to get help?"

"You made us suck on frogs! I got a wart on my-"

Katara held a hand over her brother's mouth and gave Aang an encouraging nod.

"I didn't tell you at the time, but I kind of got caught."

Katara and Sokka didn't say anything. They just looked at him. He sighed.

"By Zhao."

"Whaat?!"

"How?"

Aang reached up behind his head and smiled sheepishly. "Uh, there were these archers, and they were really, really accurate, and I kind of got taken to this big fort-

See the thing is, I wouldn't have been able to escape, only someone came and helped me. Zuko, actually, but, uh, I'm not really sure that's what he meant to do…"

"Zuko? Help you?"

"Why didn't you tell us this before!"

"I wasn't really sure what to think, because it didn't make sense, and now it kind of does-"

Sokka spread his hands and held them up. "Hold it. Hold everything. How does this make sense?"

Aang sighed. He let his hands drop to his sides and began to pace back and forth, gesturing occasionally to punctuate his sentences.

"If Zuko did something dishonorable, which apparently he has or he wouldn't be trying to fix it, it makes sense that as the Prince, he would be given a chance to redeem himself, and it seems that that chance is capturing _me_, because being the Avatar, I'm the biggest threat to his father, and it's got to be his _only_ chance, which is why he'd risk trying to steal me from Zhao, because if he doesn't fulfill whatever terms he's bound to-"

"Namely, capturing you." Katara interjected.

"Yes, exactly. If he doesn't fulfill those terms, then, he's, uh, he's…"

"Screwed," Sokka finished.

Aang stopped pacing and crumpled to the deck, folding his legs under him and resting his head in his hands.

"He's never going to help us. Not in a million years."

Somehow, Sokka didn't mind the thought that Prince Stick-up-his-Butt wouldn't end up as a permanent member of their team. Spirits or no Spirits, there was only so much a guy could be called on to put up with. Still…

"You mean he's not going to help us _on purpose_."

"Say again?

Sokka rubbed his hands together, a wicked smile overtaking his face. "I propose a simple solution. I've even given it a name."

Katara raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really? What's it called, genius?"

"Operation Outsmart Zuko."

"Huh?"

"Look, no one said he has to come with us all over the world on the off chance he suddenly switches personalities with someone actually human, just that we shouldn't leave him at the North Pole, right? That's why we're taking him to General Fong in the first place. Maybe all he's supposed to do is accidentally let something slip that we can use later, fulfilling the spirit-y usefulness thing."

It wasn't a bad plan, as plans go, and not surprisingly (considering it was Sokka's idea) it basically involved a lot of talking. Occasionally, talking would be supplemented by listening, and then by data-collection and analysis. It was all very scientific, and logical, and all three members of the team found very different rationalizations for it.

Aang wanted to understand Zuko. Antagonism aside, there was something about the young Firebender that was- intriguing. He couldn't help thinking that under the right circumstances, Zuko might actually be a decent guy. Not idealistically heroic, necessarily, but decent.

Besides, solving disputes and helping people get along despite their differences was pretty much the whole reason he was some sort of half-Spirit champion of peace and balance, instead of a normal kid. If he couldn't get through to a single individual, how was he supposed to reach an entire Nation and convince it to choose a peaceful path? Maybe he could find a way around the honor issue…

Sokka didn't think there was a chance in the world Zuko could ever be anything but a pain in the butt at best and a serious threat at the worst. Nevertheless, every warrior knew that you had little hope of defeating an enemy you didn't understand. Plus, he liked the idea of a sneaky plan. He really, really liked it. Of course, it _was_ his plan.

Katara thought Zuko was a jerk, but despite her outburst she knew he wasn't single-handedly responsible for all the bad things in her life. Now that it was out, she knew it was absolutely ludicrous to think he could be involved with what had happened to her mother. He'd have been a kid then, too, and she was a little ashamed that she'd let herself fall into the trap of thinking all Fire Nation people were born bad.

She was Katara, idealist, giver of second chances. Being vindictive just wasn't _her_. She trusted that the Spirits knew what they were talking about, and she knew Aang would need her support to combat Sokka's pessimism. He might be the Avatar, but he was also twelve, and a guy, and listened to the sarcastic teen more than he probably should.

Sokka made no effort to disguise his intentions. Aang and Katara, on the other hand, probably should have realized that their altruism was slightly self-serving. At the time, however, they had other concerns. Aang was worried because Momo had disappeared halfway through the conversation, and Katara was plotting revenge on her brother. Choosing straws was supposed to be impartial, but there was no way he hadn't cheated…

Zuko sat on the floor, cataloguing details in his head. He had started out noting similarities between his present environment and his previous quarters in a vain attempt to cheer himself up. Things couldn't be that bad, right? It was almost the same…

Only instead of making him feel better, it made him feel worse. Now he couldn't ignore the parallels, and he was desperately trying to separate the two, but it wasn't working.

Metal room, on a ship, simple futon. They'd given him proper blankets this time, not animal pelts. All he needed was a flag on the wall, a candle for his meditation, and he might as well be back on his own ship…

_Dammit. This is different, this is a cage-_

_So was the other._

_Maybe so, but at least it was bigger. At least I was free to roam the whole ship, I wasn't locked up, chained. I could leave-_

_But you always came back. Had to come back. Like a beast to his kennel._

_It was a cage._

He screwed his eyes shut, folded his hands together, and tried desperately to think about nothing but breathing.

For the second time that day, Zuko's concentration was broken by the sound of metal scraping against metal as Katara slid the bolt and opened the door. He pressed his lips into a thin line.

"Forget something? Maybe you've found your voice back and want to yell at me some more? You forgot a couple things."

"You hurt me, Zuko, but it's no excuse. I know I shouldn't have yelled like that. It won't happen again."

One corner of his mouth quirked upward. "Of course it will." He didn't move his head, but his eyes glanced up. "You have a temper." _Like me_. Somehow the thought that she was as incapable of control as he was felt reassuring. Unfortunately, it didn't help much.

His eyes glanced down again and Katara resumed breathing.

"I was just trying to help, you know. I can fix-" she began, but he cut her off.

"You had no right-"

His hands curled into fists, and he could feel friction building up along his knuckles. He wouldn't be able to hold it in if it got much worse. And of course, the stupid git was stepping forward, reaching out her hand-

"Don't touch me."

He forced his hands open again, flattening out his fingers against the floor. The metal felt pitted under his fingertips, corroded by exposure to the sea. That, he could use. That was different, from before…

Katara watched him struggle for control, unsure quite how to respond. She didn't understand why he was reacting this way. Why would he hold on to something that caused him pain?

She was also uncomfortably aware of the fact that while the metal walls and chains might protect everyone outside, she was inside, with only her water skin for backup if he lost it. The metal sheeting under his hands was starting to glow dull red…She slid one foot backwards, the soft leather of her boot barely a whisper against the floor.

She was leaving. Good. That was good. It proved she was a spineless jellyfish who couldn't face situations she didn't like, but that was her problem, not his. He didn't want her there anyway. She was a busybody, uninvited, poking her fingers where they didn't belong. She should leave. She had no right to be here…

"Running away again?"

Damn. What the hell was wrong with him? Stupid mouth. Stupid words he didn't mean to say. Too late to call them back; she'd heard.

Katara stopped.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing. Go away."

Her eyes narrowed.

"Leave!"

She cocked her hip and folded both arms over her chest. "No, I don't think so."

"No?" he repeated, voice rising in surprise. The expression on his face was equally confused. _What the hell am I supposed to do now?_

Katara allowed herself a slight smile. The current score was Zuko-2 Katara-1, but she had the advantage this time, she was beginning to get the measure of him, and the battle of wills was _hers_. All she had to do was keep him off balance, and talking. Instant victory.

"You owe me answers."

"I don't owe you anything."

Her smile widened. "Actually, you owe me quite a bit. Unless of course you want my brother, my Waterbending Master, a boatload of angry Water Tribe men _and_ the Avatar to find out exactly _how_ you repaid my kindness yesterday. They don't like you very much, you know. I don't like you either."

"No shit, princess."

"Well? Are you going to answer my questions?"

"No."

And just like that, she lost him. The stumbling boy caught his footing, oriented himself, and stood his ground. Not a boy, anymore, either. His face was still, implacable, and as he tilted his head his eyes glittered.

"You're bluffing."

"Am I?"

"Yes." His voice held unshakable certainty.

"How do you know?"

"Because you healed me."

"So?"

He smirked ever so slightly, and then mimicked her voice- "Do you even have the _slightest_ idea what it takes out of me?"

Katara didn't respond.

"You couldn't stand the thought of your _kindness_ being wasted like that. You're not a very good liar, are you? Then again I suppose you're new at this, considering only a few months ago your entire worldview consisted of snow, ice, and pathetically crafted animal-skin tents. Let me offer a word of advice. If you wanted to hold the threat of pain over my head, you should have done that first. Instead, you used your precious Waterbending trick, hoping that I would, what, gush poems of gratitude?"

He pulled back his head to study her for a moment.

"Please tell you're not one of those people who save animals because they're cute and fluffy, or worse, take on charity cases because they "feel sorry" for them."

"Trust me, Zuko, I do _not_ feel sorry for you."

"Good."

Katara shook her head. She wasn't sure just how he'd managed to get away from her, but she would. Time was on her side. In the meantime, however…

"You really are a pathetic ingrate, aren't you? "

Zuko shrugged. Not quite the reaction she was expecting. After a moment's hesitation, she decided to push harder.

"Yeah, you're a real piece of work. A genuine, first-class, gods-forsaken bastard."

That he reacted to, rising from the floor in an instant and closing the distance between them in three long strides. Katara pressed her back against the door, swallowing down the sudden nervousness inching up her spine. Damn but he was fast. She matched his gaze, not daring to look down at the index finger pressed against her sternum. It was probably her imagination, but the tip of his finger burned...

"That's the second time you've insulted my mother's honor. I let it slide once, but not again."

Her eyes widened in surprise as she realized just how far she'd crossed the line. Her mouth opened slightly in shock.

"Your mother?" she whispered.

"If you ever-"

"No. I didn't mean- I didn't mean it like that."

Very, very gingerly she raised her hands, brushing his arm away without actually closing her fingers around his wrist. He jerked away from her anyhow, turning his back without a word.

Katara left quietly, unsure which of them, if either, had won the exchange.

She found Aang rooting through the cargo. Sokka sat on a crate with his hands laced behind his head, watching. He had a goofy smile on his face, and she had to wonder if whatever was going on was somehow his fault.

"Found him!" Aang called cheerfully, both feet sticking up in the air as he leaned headfirst into a large barrel. He disappeared completely for a moment, and then she saw his head pop up, and he climbed out of the mess, cradling Momo in his arms.

The tiny lemur had stuffed himself so full his belly was twice its normal size, and he lay semi-conscious in Aang's hold with his tongue lolling out the side of his mouth.

"You know, sometimes I think he eats more than Appa does." Sokka commented, sliding off the crate to land in front of his sister.

"You get anything useful?"

Katara sighed. "He's mad at me for insulting his mother. Gives us a rare glimpse of humanity…."

"Honor-crazed, but still a momma's boy."

"Sokka, I'm not sure that's-" Aang started, but then stopped as Katara gasped and flung both hands over her mouth.

"I'm so stupid!"

"What? Where are you going?"

"To find Master Pakku."

Aang and Sokka trailed after her, bewildered.

As lead of the expedition, Pakku had a room all to himself above deck. As Katara knocked on the door Sokka opened his mouth to demand she explain, but there was a rasping groan and the door swung open. Katara didn't wait for an invitation before she pounced, breathless in anticipation.

"Who's the Queen?"

Pakku regarded her for a moment, his usually sour face made comical by surprise.

"What?"

"Of the Fire Nation. The Firelord has a wife, right?"

"Ah", His eyebrows settled, and he gestured them through the door. "You mean Princess Ursa. I'm afraid she never became Firelady." The door clicked as he pulled it shut.

"Why not? What happened to her?"

"No one really knows." Pakku held up a finger to forestall any interruption. "And I don't mean outside the Fire Nation. It would seem the majority of the Fire Nation itself isn't entirely sure. It's… _assumed_… she died."

Katara absorbed the information, a small but satisfied smile growing on her face. Aang looked confused for a minute, and then his face brightened. Sokka glowered.

"Wait- I'm still lost. Why do we care about this mystery woman?"

"Because she's Zuko's mother."

"Ohhhhhhhhh. What?"

"You didn't think he spontaneously generated under a badgertoadstool, did you?" She pursed her lips, thinking. "This helps."

"How?'

"It's a clue, Sokka. I thought you liked solving problems. Honestly, I thought you'd be all over this."

She turned toward the door, and Sokka caught her arm.

"You are not running back to talk to him again. Not today."

She blinked. "Why not?"

"He already knows we want something. We need to keep him guessing. If you keep coming back, he might start to think he's important somehow. It can wait."

"But Sokka, maybe it's the _thing_ we need!"

"And maybe it's not. It can wait until tomorrow."

"But-"

"It's not exactly time-sensitive information. And it's not like he's going anywhere."

Katara agreed reluctantly.

"Is that jam I smell on your wretched little pet?"

Aang glanced up into Pakku's face, an embarrassed smile on his own.

"No, sir, just some squashed, overripe prickle-berries."

"He'd better not have eaten the whole barrel, because if he has, I may ask the cook to prepare berry-stuffed lemur."

Aang glanced down at the comatose body in his arms. He hugged Momo to his chest and squeaked. "No sir, there's plenty left. It'llneverhappenagainIpromise."

Pakku grunted. Katara placed her hand on Aang's shoulder and gently led him out.

"Something on your mind, boy?"

Sokka almost jumped. Pakku was a strange one. Sokka really wanted to get along with the sour old bugger, but somehow he suspected Pakku didn't. He was genuinely fond of Katara, however…

"Did you see her today?"

"Saw and heard."

"She's been running around in circles like an artic hen with its head cut off. Because of him."

"You're worried your sister might develop feelings, perhaps?" Pakku's tone made it extremely clear how unlikely he found the suggestion.

"No! It just bothers me. I mean, the guy's locked up, he's a verifiable wretch and she knows it, and somehow he's still dictating the whole situation."

Pakku pushed him out the door. He started to close it, and then suddenly leaned down. Sokka backed up a step.

"I highly suspect he would disagree."

Then the old man straightened and shut the door in Sokka's face.

Sokka stood there for a moment, and then threw his hands up in the air.

"Ah, man! What's that supposed to mean?"


	9. Chapter 8

As luck would have it, the next day Sokka pulled the short straw. Katara waved at him innocently as he descended the stairs.

"Good luck, tough guy."

"Yeah, yeah."

Five minutes later, Sokka stumbled into their quarters grumbling obscenities under his breath. Katara raised an eyebrow.

"I take it you didn't do any better than I did?"

Sokka kicked the wall in response.

"Did you remember to ask about his mom, at least?"

"Sorry. Kind of slipped my mind."

"Sokka! This is important. Remember?"

"So we'll deal with it tomorrow," he grumbled, and flung himself into an empty hammock.

Katara regarded her brother for a moment.

"You aren't jealous, are you?"

"Of him?"

"Yeah."

"Please. Why would I be jealous of that stupid idiot? He's a jerk. He's chained to a wall, his hair is dumb and his face gives small children nightmares."

"He's taller than you and has bigger muscles. He's also a much better fighter than you are."

"That's not true!"

But it was, and Sokka knew it. Later that day Katara overheard her brother all but begging the warriors to train him and stifled a smile. He really could use the practice.

Having Zuko as their prisoner certainly had some interesting side effects.

Down in the metal cell, Zuko sat with his legs crossed and allowed himself a slight, lopsided smile as he placed his hands together and returned to his breathing. Sokka was a moron, and a terribly easy mark. It almost wasn't worth counting the brief encounter as a victory. Still, a hit was a hit, no matter how slight.

It was his first clear win for a long time.

The next day when the door opened Zuko found himself facing the Avatar.

_This should be interesting_.

"What do you want?"

"I was wondering about this." The Airbender reached into his shirt and pulled out Zuko's knife.

Zuko sat bolt upright. For a moment Aang was sure the older boy would lunge at him, chains and all, but after a very tense moment the prince threw back his head and laughed bitterly.

"They gave you my knife…"

It was irony at its best.

"Sokka thought maybe you had- But I don't think you would, so I just wanted to ask how you got it."

"Uncle. It was a gift." Zuko's eyes suddenly went frosty and his voice hardened. "Don't lose it."

Then he leaned back against the wall, nonchalant.

"Anything else you wanted?"

Aang regarded the knife for a moment and stuffed it back into his shirt. He wasn't really sure what to make of Zuko's attitude, which was probably what the Firebender intended.

"You said something to Katara the other day…"

"_I_ said?"

"Something about your mom?"

The nonchalance evaporated instantly, the mocking expression on Zuko's face melting away into blankness. His voice went completely dead.

"What about her?"

"I was just wondering-"

"She's gone."

Aang nodded. He'd had a feeling it wouldn't be that easy. Katara would be disappointed, but he couldn't do anything about that. Zuko just wasn't the kind to lay down and give up fighting, and as long as he saw the three as his enemies… Aang sighed. Why couldn't everyone just get along?

"That it, then?"

"Unless you want company?" An Airbender could hope, right?

"No."

"Okay. "

Aang had his hand on the door, but on impulse he turned around again.

"Don't you want to ask anything?"

""'scuse me?"

"You know. Questions. I might not be able to answer them, but…"

Zuko smirked, just a tiny bit.

"All right."

Aang walked into the friends' room, past where Katara was sitting on the floor petting Momo, past Sokka sharpening his boomerang, all the way to the far wall, and banged his head against it. He mumbled something against the wood planks, turned so his back was against the wall, smacked his head again (backwards, this time) and then slid down the vertical surface.

"Aang?" Katara asked, freezing mid-pet. Momo chirruped in annoyance and pulled at her hand.

"I'm such an idiot. How could I be so stupid?"

The Water Tribe siblings exchanged a worried glance. Sokka spoke first.

"Whatever it is, it can't be worse that what happened yesterday."

"Yes, it can." Aang buried his face in his hands. "I thought maybe I could get him to trust me if I was a little more open myself, you know?"

Sokka's expression escalated to horror.

"Please tell me you didn't just give him expert insight on our master plan to save the world?" Sokka begged, his voice pained.

"No." Aang drew his hands down his face and Katara wondered just how much her brother's mannerisms were rubbing off on the younger teen. "I told him- I gave him personal information about Katara, all right?"

Katara's eyebrows went down. "What kind of personal information, Aang?"

"Your necklace."

Out of reflex, her hand rose to her throat and touched the cool stone.

"Why?"

"He said it was the one thing you left out when you screamed at him. Apparently he found it on that prison rig after we freed Haru and all the Earthbenders."

_I didn't steal it, if that's what you're wondering._

Katara's expression softened and turned thoughtful.

"So now he knows what exactly?"

"That it was your mom's, stuff like that. I'm not even sure what I said, I was just talking-"

"And then you remembered who you were talking _to_. It's okay. I'm not mad."

"I am," Sokka interrupted, gesturing with his boomerang. "You have to be more careful around him. We can't afford any more slip-ups."

"He still got more information than you did."

It wasn't a hard pattern to catch, so Zuko was expecting a visit. Either they were taking turns, and it would be Katara again, or they were choosing lots somehow. Didn't make much of a difference, really. They could talk until they were blue in the face if they wanted. Didn't mean he would listen. All his own questions had been answered the day before. He'd known the Avatar was a child, and an optimist (a voice made faint by memory queried softly "_Do you think we could have been friends, too?") _but for the opposition's "Great Hope" to be that naïve did not bode well for his chances of success.

Not that Zuko cared.

To his surprise, when the door opened it was none of the three brats. Instead, a tall, thin man with long white hair and a bony face stepped through into his cell. Zuko vaguely recognized the man as someone who'd been with Chief Arnook in the great icy hall.

"Do you know who I am, boy?"

"Katara's Waterbending teacher?" It was a wild guess, but from the way the old man's eyes narrowed Zuko knew he'd managed to call the situation dead on.

"Yes. I am Master Pakku. This is my ship." _I'm the one in charge. You are my prisoner. _"I understand that efforts to offer kindness during your detention have been met by blatant hostility."

"Is that what that was? Here I thought it was an extremely ineffective attempt at interrogation."

"Careful, boy."

There was something in his tone that made Zuko wonder about the nature of Pakku's relationship with the three in question, and then he remembered his conversation with the Avatar the day previously. The boy wasn't just an Airbender- he also seemed to be something of an air_head_, as well. He'd rambled quite a bit, and Pakku's name had come up a couple of times.

_He was supposed to marry Katara's grandmother, Kana-_

The boy's voice was replaced by Katara's-_ You threatened my grandmother!_

Zuko felt his gut clench as he realized Master Pakku had some very personal issues to hold against him. Katara had been screaming at the top of her lungs that day, he was sure the Master had heard-

"I didn't hurt her, you know."

"Katara?"

"No, your, um- Kana?"

Pakku's eyes widened slightly. He'd better have a talk with those three about giving the Firebender information when they were supposed to be retrieving it.

"Explain."

Zuko stifled a shiver.

"I grabbed her coat. That's all." Pakku didn't say anything but Zuko knew he better keep talking. "Given that no one had seen the Avatar in a century it was assumed he was, well, old. I thought I was searching for someone who looked like her." Then his eyes narrowed in speculation. "Actually, more like someone who looked like _you_, but the closest thing approximating a man in that village was Sokka, and he hardly counts."

Pakku gave a short bark of laughter. "Yes, well. That situation is being remedied."

"What do you want, old man?" _Cut the bullshit already._

"Let's up the ante, shall we?"

Pakku took up the loose chain in one hand.

"If you can restrain yourself and spend one hour with a visitor without incident, I will remove these" the chains rattled, " for that period of time each day following. If, however, you take advantage of this gesture in any way you will lose what freedom you already have."

"I'm already chained to the damn wall!"

"Ah, but we can make those chains shorter," Pakku yanked, pulling Zuko off balance and dragging him toward the back wall, "and tighter." He looped the chain around the bolt in the wall so Zuko's arms were raised above his head and then stooped down, his hawk-nosed face inches from Zuko's own. The old man's eyes were the color of ice and just as friendly.

"Simple enough, no? I'll be back tomorrow."

"If I say no?"

"Same penalty."

Pakku dropped the chains and left. Zuko leaned his head against the wall, eyes closed. He drew his hands in toward his chest and pulled up his knees. The old Waterbender was a lot stronger than he looked, and Zuko knew the threat was no bluff.

His wrists already hurt, though he would never say so. The chains weighed him down, and the only way to get relief from that constant pressure was to rest his hands on the floor, or cradle them between his chest and knees as he was now. Even then, the metal cuffs rubbed painfully, and he knew underneath the pale grey silk of his sleeves his wrists were bruised. Shortening the chain, even for such a short amount of time, had set them throbbing. He didn't want to feel that again.

_By all the Gods and Spirits I'm weak. So what if it hurts? I can cope with pain. I've done if before. I do it all the time._

_But you don't have to. Just play nice for one hour. That's all. It's not like you have a choice. _

_When do I ever?_

He was getting used to the ship, now. After just a few days the strange sounds had separated themselves in his mind, and he could spot the difference between the rushing of water against the wood planks outside and the whisper of feet within. Someone was coming. He sat up.

Katara stepped through the door. She looked far more composed than she had on previous occasion, with a hint of suppressed irritation tightening her face. She also had an hourglass in one hand.

"First off, I want you to know that this was not my idea. There's no real point to keeping you chained up in the first place. It's totally paranoid and-"

"Katara."

"What?"

"Timer."

She stared at him for a moment.

"You really hate my being here that much?"

"You really think I can keep my temper for a whole hour with you pushing my buttons all the time?" he countered.

Katara pressed her lips together. She had to admit he had a point. It really wasn't fair. _I'm not doing this to be mean. It's for the greater good._

Mouth still a thin line, she turned the hourglass over and set it on the floor.

Zuko rubbed his wrists. Now that the chains were off, it felt weird not to have them. He couldn't quite believe he wasn't dreaming. This, of course, was the real test. He'd managed to hold his temper the day before, but only just. He'd forced himself to watch the grains of sand slide from one chamber of the hourglass to the other, until finally they had all fallen. Katara had almost smiled.

"Looks like you made it, Fireboy."

"Don't send Sokka."

"What?'

"Tomorrow."

He didn't know if she'd listen, or care. Only now, the chains were off, and she was sitting cross-legged at the other end of the room with her hourglass. Pakku had actually kept his word.

"Ready?"

He nodded, and she turned the glass over. The grains began to fall.

Up in the gang's sleeping quarters, Aang and Sokka were studying the knife. Momo kept trying to get a better look at whatever was keeping the humans distracted from more important concerns (like petting him or giving him snacks) but Sokka kept pushing him away. The lemur stalked off and curled up, but his sulking soon turned to slumber. The boys remained focused on the knife.

"He said it was a gift."

"And you believed that? It's an _Earth Kingdom _knife, Aang. If Zuko didn't take it as a trophy himself, then his uncle must have."

"I can't believe that. He helped us at the Oasis, Sokka. He tried to stop Zhao."

"Zhao called him _General_. You don't get to be a General unless you've done stuff to get there. Maybe he's not as much of an evil freak as the rest of them, but he's still Fire Nation. We already know he's far from a harmless old man."

"Well, yeah, but I still think he's okay."

"Lemme see it. Maybe there's a clue we can use."

Sokka pulled the blade free, and it gleamed softly.

"There's an inscription."

"Made in Earth Kingdom." Sokka read in a bored tone. "We already knew that."

"This side is different. It says "Never give up without a fight"."

The boys locked eyes for a long moment.

"Well that's just Zuko all over, isn't it?" Sokka grumbled.

Aang had to agree. "Put it away. It's not going to tell us anything we don't already know."

He sighed, and pulled Momo into his arms. The lemur protested sleepily but subsided as Aang ran his fingers over the tiny head.

_Time's up._

Things had gone better than she expected. Zuko hadn't said anything useful, of course. She could respect that, in a way. It would be far stranger if he started volunteering everything they needed. On the other hand, he hadn't tried anything stupid, or gotten mad at her, or tried to provoke information out of her. He was distant, barely civil, and the insults he swallowed still showed in his face even if they didn't leave his mouth.

Still, he was obviously making an effort, and that gave her hope. Right now, though, she was worried. The upper chamber of the timer was empty, and that meant it was time for the chains to go back on.

Zuko seemed to have reached the same realization. For a moment they locked eyes, and then he deliberately looked away.

"You have the timer."

"Huh?"

"You have the timer. They don't know, yet. You have to tell them."

Of course. Of course she did. Katara rose shakily from the floor.

"Zuko, I can give you a few more minutes…"

But he was shaking his head. "Just get it over with." If he lost it now, and Pakku thought it was still within the hour…

Katara almost couldn't watch. Despite his adamant insistence that the hour was up, Zuko flinched when the guards grabbed him. He stared straight ahead, breathing shallowly through his nose as they pulled his arms away from his body and locked the shackles in place. When they let go he lurched forward. It was worse, now. The chains felt heavier than ever. He knelt on the floor, hunched over.

The guards left. Katara started to follow them and hesitated. She didn't have to leave. Maybe it would help if she stayed?

As though reading her mind Zuko jerked his head up, eyes hard and angry.

"Get out," he snarled. "Get out, GET OUT!"

"Hey! Where are you going?"

Katara bristled at her brother's tone. He wasn't the boss of her. She ignored him and grabbed the hourglass.

"Where do you think?"

Sokka stepped in front of the door and held his arms out to block her.

"Absolutely not! It's been you the last three days, Katara."

"And in that time I have actually made progress. Face it, guys, he got more information from _you_ than either of you did from him. Plus, I think he might be starting to trust me, just a little tiny bit."

When she entered the cell, however, her confidence evaporated. Zuko was curled in a ball in the back corner. His hands were pressed against his chest so no one could reach them. Katara abandoned the hourglass by the door and knelt down beside him, instinctively grabbing his shoulder.

"Don't-"

"Touch you." She pulled her hand back. "I forgot."

He looked at her, gold eyes searching her face. Whether he found what he was looking for or not she wasn't sure, but he shook his head, and turned away so all she could see was the scar.

"No. Don't play games with me."

"I don't understand."

"You set up rules, but I can't- I can't follow one without breaking another. You set it up so I have to lose, no matter what. I didn't ask you to let me go. But he came, and he said-"

Katara closed her eyes for a moment. Of course. Zuko was "free" to react as long as he was chained up. He couldn't while he was "free", on pain of, well, pain, and of course that freedom was fleeting at best, and involved still being locked in a box. She really couldn't blame him for being on edge. She sighed.

"Pakku's a jerk, okay?"

"He's your Master."

"And he's still a jerk. To everybody."

Zuko absorbed this.

"I noticed he didn't seem too fond of your brother."

She shrugged. "Sokka's not a Bender. Look, I know this situation is far from ideal, but it's not forever. It's just while we're on the ship. Tell you what. I know Pakku threatened something horrible if you messed up, but as long as I'm in this room with you I'm in charge, okay? I decide whether or not you've stepped over the line. As long as you don't try to set me on fire, we're good."

"Why would I do that?"

He sounded genuinely hurt.

"You wouldn't. Which is why everything is going to be fine."

He uncurled a little. His body language was gradually relaxing, and she thought he seemed less defensive, but his face still held suspicion.

"What do you want, anyway?"

"Just to talk to you. It's called being sociable." She grinned. "You should try it sometime."

"Funny."

"We gonna do this or not?"

It wasn't the most pleasant way to spend an hour, but it could have been worse. It was better than the day before, at any rate, and if Zuko held himself a little stiffly when they locked him up again, well, Katara could hardly blame him.

Over the next few days it became a routine. The trio woke, ate breakfast together, and then Katara and Aang trained with Pakku. Sokka practiced with the warriors, and then they came together for lunch. After that, Aang usually had one-on-one sessions with Pakku while Sokka kept an eye on Momo to make sure he didn't incur the Master Waterbender's wrath. Katara claimed this time to talk to Zuko. She decided it was best to keep things as consistent as possible when dealing with the Firebender, which was one of the reasons she told Sokka not to bother with the straws anymore. He made a token protest which she promptly squashed.

"Oh, come on. I can take him and he knows it. Plus, he actually talks to me. Most of the time anyway."

It was true, and although Zuko was careful not to let slip anything he thought they could use, she still managed to compile a list of intriguing, if incomplete, information. She quickly learned which topics to avoid completely, and which she could dance around, gleaning hints when he didn't quite shut his mouth as soon as he should. In spite of this fact, she suspected Zuko was starting to- well, not enjoy but possibly appreciate her company, if only to combat loneliness and boredom.

Then, inexplicably, he started to retreat. Katara didn't notice at first. She had other concerns, after all. She had her Waterbending to practice and she was starting to worry that Aang seemed slightly less cheerful than usual. When she asked what was wrong he would only say that he wasn't sleeping well. She hoped it was just nerves, but it made her feel guilty to think she might have been neglecting her friend for a surly enemy combatant who only put up with her because-

Well, she honestly didn't know why Zuko tolerated her and not the others. He was certainly never friendly, and often downright aggressive, but she couldn't shake the feeling that somehow he was her responsibility. Taking him to the Earth Kingdom may have been Sokka's idea, but it had been her theory that had started everything. Aang assured her he was probably just nervous about starting Earthbending, and satisfied she wasn't abandoning her duties a friend she noticed Zuko was pulling away.

"I don't get it. He was finally starting to open up, and now it's like he doesn't even realize I'm in the room. I had to repeat myself three times today and then he didn't even answer. He just shrugged. He seemed sort of down yesterday, too. More than usual, I mean."

Aang regarded her with worried eyes. Like Katara, he felt a sense of obligation to the former prince.

"Did he say anything?"

"He asked me what day it was, like he already knew but wanted to make sure, and when I told him he just kind of nodded."

"Maybe he's worried about what's going to happen once we reach the Earth Kingdom."

"Maybe, but I think it's something else."

Zuko was even more withdrawn the following day, and barely responded to her presence. He didn't seem to notice the removal or replacement of the chains, and that scared Katara more that his silence. She had stayed a little longer than the allotted hour before, but he usually made snarky remarks about it. Today, nothing.

"Zuko, look at me."

He glanced up but didn't move his head.

"I probably should have said this first, but I didn't want you to worry. I'm telling you now because I wanted to make sure you knew what was going on, this time."

"Oh?"

"We've made better progress than expected. The ship, I mean. We'll be in the Earth Kingdom tomorrow. I thought you should know."

He dropped his gaze.

"This ship is not that fast…"

"Pakku and the others aren't coming. They have- another mission to take care of. So we're flying the rest of the way, on Appa. We'll leave in the morning and we should reach the fort before nightfall."

"Right."

"Zuko, what's wrong?"

He met her eyes briefly, and then wrapped his arms around his knees and looked away.

"Nothing." _You wouldn't understand_.

Later that night Katara woke from restless slumber to the sound of retreating footsteps. She followed Aang up onto the deck. He leaned against the railing, looking very small and very alone. She hugged herself to fight off the chill, hesitating only a moment before stepping forward.

"Aang. Talk to me."

"It's nothing. Just a bad dream."

"You've been having those a lot, lately."

"Actually, it's kind of the same one. It keeps getting stronger."

"Want to tell me about it?"

"I was in the Avatar State, but I was outside my body watching myself. It was scary. I-was scary."

Katara wrapped her arms around him, and she felt him relax. It was a small enough gesture, but if it offered comfort, Katara could stay that way all night long.

They set off early the next morning. It took a while before Pakku and Sokka were satisfied with the preparations. Zuko remained silent as his hands were chained behind his back, securing him to Appa's saddle. Katara didn't have time to think about it, though, because there were goodbyes to be said and gifts to receive. She settled herself in the saddle, tucking the vial of Spirit Water under her shirt. Aang stowed his new Waterbending scrolls and took his usual position behind Appa's head.

"Take care, Sokka."

"Yeah, sure," he grumbled, clambering into the saddle.

"Fly straight to the Earth Kingdom base to the east of here. General Fong will provide you with an escort to Omashu. There you'll be safe to begin your Earthbending training with King Bumi."

Katara waved as they rose into the sky.

Things went ugly pretty fast. Despite Zuko's unusually taciturn manner, Sokka kept taking offense at every little twitch the former prince made. Once challenged, Zuko reacted, and the two of them hurled insults back and forth. Sokka's were wittier, but Zuko's delivery more than countered that.

Within an hour things escalated to the point that Sokka no longer felt words were satisfactory, and tied Zuko's feet together. Zuko spat in his face. Sokka suggested a gag, and Zuko retorted that he could burn it. Katara had to physically restrain her brother from taking things even further. Enemy or not, she wasn't going to let her brother beat up a guy bound hand and foot and unable to defend himself. It wasn't her fault Sokka couldn't deal with verbal abuse. A small voice in her head insisted it might even be good for him.

Sokka subsided, grumbling, and Zuko fell quiet again. They flew on in uncomfortable silence.

The air was clear, and chill. It was a beautiful day. Sokka rummaged through the bags, drew out his boomerang, and studied the edge critically. Zuko sneered and turned away.

For a long time no one spoke, and the only sounds to break the stillness were rushing wind, the muffled clank of chains whenever Zuko shifted position, and the icy _shiiing_ of Sokka's whetstone against his boomerang. Then the wind increased, and Katara felt the bottom of her stomach drop out from under her.

"Oof"

"What was that?"

"Sorry, guys," came Aang's cheerful voice. "It's just a little turbulence from the wind. I'll go higher."

Before he could signal Appa, they hit another pocket of chaotic air and this time when they settled Zuko winced visibly, and hissed through his teeth.

Sokka scoffed "Aww, big bad Firebender can't take a little bump?"

Katara leaned over the edge of the saddle, took a good long look at the chains holding Zuko in place, and rounded on her brother.

"What it is wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with _me_?" he started incredulously, but she cut him off.

"Give me the key."

"What?"

"The key, Sokka. Now."

"You can not be serious."

Katara put her hands on her hips.

Sokka grabbed her wrist and pulled her down as they hit another bump. Then they felt the angle shift as Appa flew higher. Sokka held his sister close as they leveled and whispered in her ear.

"Pakku said we can't take any chances. I don't care if he's uncomfortable."

"It's worse than that, Sokka. His arms are twisted up behind his back. I can't believe he didn't say anything earlier. If we hit a really bad bump, it could dislocate both his shoulders. That's not being safe; it's just cruel and totally unnecessary," she whispered back.

"Well excuse me for not being an expert at tying people up!"

"Sokka," she hissed, "if you don't give me the key, I'll just have to cut the chains _off_."

"All right, all right!"

Zuko barely reacted as Sokka unlocked one shackle and locked it again around the chain instead of his arm, leaving him still stuck to the saddle but able to move. Sokka made a face at his sister over the unresponsive teen's head.

"Happy, now?"

Katara gave a grim nod. Sokka sat down sat again, lounging against the edge of the saddle. He nudged Zuko with his foot.

"You try anything, and I'll take you down, understand?"

Zuko rolled his eyes.

"We're in the middle of the sky, genius. What the hell am I going to do, jump off the side?" He shifted his weight, turning his body toward the wall of the saddle to relieve the pressure on his arm and back. "You're one to make threats, anyway."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Zuko looked back over his shoulder.

"Oh, I don't know. You're traveling with a Waterbending prodigy and the only person in the entire world capable of Bending all four elements, and yet you still act like you're the one in control."

"I _am_ the one in control!"

"You're a lesser threat." _I can take you down in seconds, moron. You're no fighter. Get over yourself._

Katara threw herself at her brother as he lunged. She wrapped both arms around him and held fast. Her braid whipped around as she whirled to glare at the Firebender.

"Shut it, Zuko," she growled.

He shrugged and turned away again.

They were headed due east, as Pakku had directed. Looking straight behind them, Zuko watched the great expanse of the ocean fall away. Far beyond the horizon, he could almost imagine the ragged volcanic peaks of his homeland. Sharp, dark terrain softened by lush vegetation, warm soft rain, and vibrantly colored creatures. It was a forbidding but also promising landscape he hadn't seen in three years and probably never would again.

_Three years. Three years today._

He closed his eyes, and leaned forward over the edge of the saddle.

The rest of the journey passed uneventfully. At last Aang spotted the unmistakable shape of fortifications. From the air, the Earth Kingdom base looked like a coin, a circle with a square in the center. As they neared and came lower, they could see that the square was the base of a great tower, and the outer edge of the circle a thick rock wall. Aang guided them in and they landed on stone paving. It looked like the entire base had assembled to greet them.

It wasn't hard to guess which one was General Fong. He stepped forward, arms open and smiling. A small contingent of Earthbenders moved forward, raising a stone to the level of Appa's back to take custody of Zuko.

He swayed slightly as they led him away, trying to ignore the shooting pain running up from his feet and legs. It wasn't the first time his feet had gone to sleep, but there was a difference between the brief pins and needles sensation caused by sitting too long in one position, and the stabbing weakness that forced him to rely on his captor's strength not to fall flat on his face. It made him feel a little bit better that the three "hero's" (General Fong's list of appellations made him nauseous) seemed to suffer at least some discomfort from the ride.

He held his head stiffly, absently noting the fireworks blooming overhead before he was led indoors. They pushed him through a door at the end of a long corridor and locked it behind him.

The cell was made of the same stone as the rest of the fort, save for the metal door. It was solid, heavy, and boasted a little window near the top. A narrow cot rested on a metal shelf bolted to the wall on one side and supported by chains on the other. Sunlight filtered through a barred slit near the top of the wall.

One of the soldiers banged against the door and he turned.

"The General will come by to talk to you later."

Zuko nodded absently and sat down on the edge of the bed. His stomach knotted. However welcoming the General had been with the Avatar and his friends, he was bound to be far less so with any Fire Nation prisoner, much less a prince. Even a banished prince. He stretched out, and the solid padding beneath him only increased his anxiety.

There was something about the cell that bothered him, but he couldn't quite place what. Maybe he was just being paranoid. Maybe it really would be okay, as Katara had repeated so very often. He pulled his arms close to his chest and closed his eyes, unable to shake the feeling, deep in his gut, that something was very, very wrong about the entire situation.

As his breath stilled, just before sleep claimed his consciousness, a random thought flitted across his mind.

_The fireworks. He was celebrating too soon. He was gloating over a victory that wasn't his to claim. He's arrogant, like…_

But before he could finish the comparison, the thought was brushed aside by dream. Dark, shadowed memory overtook his mind, overwhelming every other consideration in burning flame.

"…_watching you be in that much rage and pain is really scary."_

" _I'm really glad you told me that. But I still need to do this." _

"_I don't understand."_

"_No, you don't. Every day more and more people die. I'm already a hundred years late. Defeating the Fire Lord is the only way to stop this war. I have to try it." _

"_I can't watch you do this to yourself. I'm not coming tomorrow. Goodnight."_

No matter how many times she reviewed the conversation in her mind, she still came up with nothing. How was she supposed to make him understand? Most of the time Aang was considerate, but sometimes he could be so stubborn…

"Know what, Momo? I think I'm done sitting around like a lump. As long as we're here, we might as well check on Zuko, right?"

The General had promised he would be fair to the former prince, but Katara wasn't entirely sure she and the General saw eye to eye. It would take more than mere flattery to win her over, especially when he had proved so unmovable on the whole "you're ready to face the Fire Lord now" issue with Aang.

Katara was slightly surprised, but also pleased, to see that the General had actually been as good as his word. There were guards at the door, of course, but the cell was clean, respectably sized, and the only sign of chains were the ones holding up the cot on the wall. Zuko even looked a little better. It was comfortably warm, and he had peeled away some of the outer layers of silk, as well as his boots. His good eye widened slightly at the sight of her.

"I thought you'd be halfway to Omashu by now."

"No, there's been a slight alteration to our travel plans."

"Well, you know what they say about making plans."

When she didn't respond he lifted an eyebrow.

"They only last through the first engagement with the enemy?" he prompted, and Katara had to remind herself (not for the first time) that Zuko actually wasn't on their side.

"I guess that's why you don't bother making plans?"

He shrugged.

"What's the point?"

Katara sighed and lowered herself to the floor. Why was everything so confusing? General Fong ought to be on their side, but he was forcing Aang to make decisions he shouldn't have to. Zuko could be on their side, if she only knew what to say to make him understand that his father was wrong-

Momo batted at her arm, bright green eyes wide with worry. She shook herself.

"What do you want, Katara?"

It was a familiar question by now, but she could never seem to find the right answer.

"Right now, I just wanted to make sure the General was keeping his word. He promised Aang you wouldn't be harmed. We wouldn't leave you here otherwise."

"Good to know."

"You are okay, right? You were- really out of it- the other day."

"That- had nothing to do with you."

"Zuko, maybe if you just told me, I could help."

"You can't."

"Okay, fine. But I don't know if we'll be staying much longer, so if there's anything you want, you'd better ask now."

"They said the General was going to come talk to me, but he hasn't."

That didn't surprise Katara in the least.

"He's been kind of busy. With Aang." Her voice held an odd edge.

As if on cue, the entire fort shook to its foundations. Momo squeaked and shoved his head against Katara, and she cradled him in her arms, soothing him as she leapt to her feet.

_What crazy thing are they trying now?_ she wondered, pounding on the door.

Zuko watched her rush from the room, anxiety growing as he realized she didn't trust the general either. After the door slammed closed, he finally realized who it was Fong reminded him of.

Zhao.

It was too late to do anything about it now. Katara was gone. He could hear her running down the hall. He knew what had bothered him about the cell, too. It was a jail cell, a holding cell. Not a long-term prison. They had no intention of keeping him like this; it was only a temporary measure. The smiling Earth Kingdom General was a lie, a tool to ensure the Avatar's cooperation. Underneath he was twisted, a cunning weasel-snake with delusions of grandeur. That realization did not bode well for Zuko _or_ the three friends.

He could hear muffled shouting outside the window, the clatter of armored mounts, the resounding thud of Earthbending. There was a high-pitched shriek, and the unmistakable atmospheric pressure that signaled an extremely pissed-off Airbender had entered the fray.

_What the hell is going on out there? _

Zuko climbed onto the cot, trying to see out the high window. He caught a glimpse of motion-

Something large and heavy hit the outer wall of the cell. It buckled and cracked and Zuko fell backward, pressing himself flat against the door in the far wall. He could hear wind roaring past, spraying sand through the tiny window, and threw an arm over his face, eyes screwed shut. A ripple ran through the floor underneath him, lifting the stones haphazardly. The crack widened, spreading up the wall and shedding chunks of rock as it reached the ceiling.

The wind died abruptly and Zuko blinked.

Out in the courtyard Sokka hit the General over the head and refused the offered escort to Omashu. Katara gasped for breath, grateful for the air, and tried not to remember how it felt to be completely encased in stone and unable to move. Aang slumped to the ground, tired and burdened with new-gained knowledge.

They left as quickly as possible, desperate to simply put the incident behind them. They would be safe in Omashu. They knew King Bumi- he could actually be trusted. Katara had an unsettled feeling they were forgetting something, but after experiencing the darker side of General Fong she was only too grateful to simply get as far away as possible.

Several hours after the near complete destruction of Zuko's cell the door opened, revealing the (no longer smiling) Earth Kingdom General.

"The Avatar's gone, isn't he?"

Zuko's voice was flat and emotionless, but his heart quickened. This is it, he thought. This is when the truth comes out.

"Avatar Aang is an optimistic and inexperienced individual. He doesn't understand the realities of war."

The general gestured, and two guards entered, flanking the prince and holding his arms. Pressure built up around his wrists and with a start he realized the Earthbender was encasing them in stone, forming a restraint so closely fit he couldn't move at all. The general smirked, smug as a cat-owl.

"I understand Firebenders take their energy from the sun." Without waiting for a reply, he went on. "They are weaker at night, and after long intervals away from daylight. I have even heard that if a Firebender is deprived of sunlight for a long enough time, it can cause loss of his wits. His sanity. Given enough time he will simply fade away."

Zuko kept his face impassive, but he was breathing faster as the other man's intentions became clear.

"You are a dangerous prisoner to have, Prince Zuko. You are an experienced Firebender, and you have no use as a political hostage." He paused then, to gauge Zuko's reaction but he would not be caught off-guard that easily.

The general shrugged, and gestured at the small barred window, and the light filtering through into the cell. "Say goodbye to the sun, boy. You will never see daylight again."

They took him down, down into the earth. He could feel the pressure, palpable crushing weight, increasing above his head as they descended ever deeper. The passageway narrowed, and the guards let go of his arms, pushing him ahead of them down the dimly lit corridor. He noted the glowing green crystals dotting the walls and ceiling, his eyes growing accustomed to the fireless illumination. Then the passage seemed to end. He stopped a few feet in front of the rock face and turned slightly to see the guards behind him. One of them took an Earthbending stance and stomped down hard. The rock face parted.

Choking from the dust Zuko looked through and nearly choked again.

Beyond the opening lay a vast cavern, wide enough across to hold three of the largest Fire Navy ships side by side. Stalactites hung from the ceiling, dripping water down into the pit below. The sharp spikes glistened eerie green. Below was only darkness. A single pillar of stone rose from the depths, the top sheared completely flat. It was empty save for a single manacle and chain.

The guard nearest grabbed Zuko's arm again as his companion formed a bridge. Zuko wondered briefly what would happen if he were to throw himself over the edge, but it was an idle thought. His captor had too strong a grip, and with his luck he'd probably survive the fall only to die slowly and painfully in the darkness below.

They pushed him forward across the earth-bridge. The pillar was more or less centered in the cavern, at least thirty feet from the walls at the closest. The guards moved slowly, carefully across the chasm. When they reached their destination they locked the manacle around his left ankle and filled the lock itself with earth, making it completely impossible to for anyone but another Earthbender to open it again.

And then they left, the bridge collapsing behind them. Almost as an afterthought the guard crumbled the restraining stone around Zuko's wrists. It fell around his feet as the cavern wall closed, leaving no trace of the passageway behind it.

Cold, stifling fear settled in his gut. There was a name for prisons like this, a dark word that left no doubt to their purpose.

_Oubliette_

The place of forgetting. To make him forget who he was. To make everyone else forget he had ever existed.

Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew the Avatar would never have left him here if he had realized this would happen, but that was a cold comfort at best. He couldn't really blame them for running away. They had their own skins to look after. They didn't owe him anything.

He sank down on the cold damp stone, and drew his knees up to his chest. He was completely and utterly alone.


	10. Chapter 9

Katara liked singing. Really, she did. She liked Lily and Chong, and all their goofy friends. She enjoyed their cheerful attitude, a refreshing change from the usual jaded mentality of a people who had spent a full century fighting with no end in sight. She had to admit, though, that it was a relief to see them go.

The past couple of days had left her feeling a bit unsettled. She was finally starting to put General Fong's disastrous plan behind her, only to get lost in a cave with Aang. To be honest, there was no one she'd rather be lost in a cave _with_, except when she didn't. How was it possible that he managed to be her best friend one moment and an absolute jerk the next-

No. Aang might be careless sometimes, but it was never intentional. Zuko, on the other hand- now there was someone who deliberately went out of his way to make everyone around as miserable as he was.

Spirits- _Zuko_.

With a sinking feeling growing in the pit of her stomach, Katara realized they had left him with the same crazed Earthbender who had sunk her into solid rock trying to control Aang like some kind of inhuman super-weapon. She ran to catch up with the others, gasping for breath as she neared the top of the hill. She knew Sokka was probably still grumbling about the nomads, and didn't pay much attention to what he was saying.

"I present to you the Earth Kingdom City of O- Oh no."

Sokka froze, blocking the view, and she reached forward to pull on his shirt.

"Sokka! We totally forgot about-"

Sokka stepped aside, and Katara stared at Omashu.

The city was ringed with siege towers. Smoke rose into the sky, and she could see empty places, where the buildings had been completely destroyed. The main walls were sheathed in dark metal, and on the great front gate she could see the blood red flag of the Fire Nation.

Omashu had fallen, and the sight of it knocked every other thought clean from her head.

***

Deep beneath Fong's base, Zuko woke to the realization that he was still in hell. The only thing worse than being cold all the time, he'd discovered, was being cold and _wet_. At least the North Pole had been a dry kind of cold. The constant damp settled into his skin, and he couldn't help flinching whenever a drop from one of the stalactites landed on him.

He knew, empirically, that the cavern roof was far above him. He knew that. He could still feel the pressure of the crushing weight suspended over his head. The walls were far away, but his chest felt constricted, as though he were standing in neck-deep water.

Zuko was not afraid of the dark. He was not afraid of heights. He was not claustrophobic. He was not agoraphobic. He simply could not feel the sun.

At all.

Even at his weakest, he always knew the arrival of dawn. He felt it coming, deep in his bones. He could feel the sun rise, and set. It was his anchor, a limitless supply of energy that fed the entire world and still had more than enough to spare for the Firebenders who depended on the brilliant star as thoroughly as they depended on air to breath or water to drink…

He couldn't feel the sun. He had woken at dawn for nearly as long as he could remember, barring serious injury or illness. Before his disastrous failure at the North Pole he had risen at that time to practice under the growing light (and power) of the sun's soft glow. Even on Pakku's ship, he had felt it, although he hadn't been able to go through the familiar _katas_.

He couldn't feel the sun.

They brought food sometimes. He guessed it was once a day, but he couldn't remember how many times he'd been fed. With several tons of rock between himself and the sky, he had no way of knowing one day from the next. It was screwing with his head in no small fashion. He slept at random intervals, waking from dark shadowed nightmare to find himself in a dark shadowed nightmare that seemed marginally more real due to that fact that his stomach clenched in hunger.

Sometimes when he woke food and water had been brought while he slept, sometimes the guards came while he was awake. When that happened they bound his body in stone, and only released him on their departure. They never spoke to him, or even looked at him. Maybe it was just a trick of the light, but he was never sure if it was the same two men who had locked him up originally. He wasn't even sure if it was the same two men from one time to the next.

Probably the lighting. Had to be the lighting. That and the uniforms. They all looked the same.

He'd been barefoot when they took him from the holding cell, and now the cold iron bit into his ankle. He ripped the sleeves from his shirt and tore them into strips, wrapping some around his ankle and some around the bare metal so it wouldn't rub as badly. It was a trade off, less pain but more cold. The cavern was always damp.

He_ could_ still Firebend, but it did him little good for anything besides relieving the tedium. Boredom wasn't usually considered a punishment, but with nothing to do and nothing to think about besides the fact that he would be _stuck in this pit until he died_, Zuko relished the thought of even the tiniest distraction.

Eventually he realized that even boredom had a use. Namely, it pushed him to try things he normally wouldn't bother with. Like dropping a rock off the edge of his prison and counting until he heard a- splash?

He rocked back onto his haunches and thought for a bit. One- the cavern was always damp and cold. He shivered, setting the chain clinking. Two- the rushing sound that hovered at the edge of his attention _could_ be running water. He leaned further over the edge, trying to break through the inky blackness.

The chain was placed in the center of the pillar and he had full range of motion within that space. In fact, if he wanted to, he could probably dangle over the edge by his foot, which was clearly insane and he squashed the thought immediately.

_Dammit. I'm not going to lose my mind down here. _

Very carefully, he gathered all the loose rock he could find and crept back to the edge. He dropped a rock in exactly the same place, and in the same way, as the first. Again he heard a very faint splash. Grinning now, he threw the next rock a little further out, and again was rewarded. Three rocks later, and he was certain whatever lay at the bottom of the chasm was no mere puddle or stream.

He still needed to know more. Tearing a bit of cloth from his shirt, he tied it around another rock, and soaked it in the greasy residue at the bottom of his bowl. Crawling back to the edge, he held it out in one hand, lit the small bundle, and dropped it.

The rock walls illuminated by the makeshift torch looked tricky but not impossible to climb, and down at the bottom he saw fast moving water. Lots of it. Against all reason, he felt a spark of hope growing within him even as the tiny flame was extinguished in the current.

Now all he had to do was lose the chain, get down to the base of the pillar, and let the underground river carry him away. It was impossible the plan would actually succeed. On the other hand, what did he have to lose?

The critical detail was time. The longer he stayed, the weaker he would become, and the more likely it was he wouldn't have either the mental or Bending capability to carry through. Running a hand through his hair (when had it gotten that long?) he summoned a bright compact flame and studied the chain holding him. He knew he couldn't hope to remove the manacle, but one of the links near it showed hints of corrosion…

A feral smile formed on his lips. Fools. The chain was probably decades old, what did they think would happen to iron left in an environment filled with moisture? Then again, the smug general didn't know the details of Zuko's infiltration at the North Pole. He had no idea what Zuko was capable of, the lengths that he could push himself to even injured and weak. Well, he was going to find out.

Grabbing the last, and largest, rock from his tossing experiment he began to further weaken the link.

Breaking the chain took longer than he would have liked. He had to be careful and hide the damage under his leg when the guards came. He was terrified they would come during his infrequent slumber and discover his handiwork, and so slept even less.

Finally, the abused metal gave way, leaving a gap just large enough the let the connecting link slide free. Zuko almost cheered.

He had meant to time his departure, wait until after the guards had brought food, and get some sleep before he made the attempt. But now, the link was finally broken, and tired as he was he couldn't bear the thought of being stuck in the cavern any longer. He had to go now, before he was too weak to get down the pillar.

By good luck or ill, he was halfway down when the guards came. Cursing under his breath Zuko tried to move faster, placed his foot on an unstable ledge, and broke off a sizable chunk of rock. It fell into the water with a resounding splash. He tried to regain his balance, lost hold of the rock face completely, and followed.

The water was cold, but not as cold as the seal-turtle's ice tunnels at the North Pole. He could survive this. He had to. Drawing a deep breath, he surrendered to the current.

***

"Katara, seriously, you need to stop worrying. You've been freaking out ever since we left Omashu."

Katara stopped pacing in front of the campfire and glared at him.

"I wonder why."

"We have bigger problems to deal with right now than Prince- Poopypants, okay? (Why was she glaring at him? He hadn't actually _said_ "Shit for brains", just thought it). "Besides, I'm sure he's fine."

"How can you say that, Sokka? You know what General Fong is like!"

"He was pushing Aang. I don't like what he did any more than you do but he kind of had a point. A crazy, _wrong_ point, I admit, but the guy wasn't totally off. We need to stop the Fire Lord as soon as possible, before all the crazy Firebenders destroy the whole world. Not that I support making Aang snap like that again. It's pretty much the scariest thing I've ever seen."

Sokka leaned back against a convenient rock and propped his feet on his rolled sleeping bag.

"I really think you're over-reacting, sis. You said yourself Zuko looked fine. Besides, the General promised. You really think he'd be dumb enough to break a promise to the Avatar?"

Katara sighed. Sokka was probably right.

"I just wish I _knew_, is all."

"Katara, look at me. Zuko may be a prisoner of war right now, but he's also the Firelord's son, not some random soldier. You know how stuffy the Earth Kingdom is about protocol and rank and stupid things like people being better because they were born with privilege. So Zuko's the prince of an enemy nation. He's still a _prince_."

"That's a good point," Aang broke in. He'd never understood how someone could think they were better than everyone else just because their family was rich or whatever, but he'd seen it often enough in the past few months.

Sokka adjusted his position and placed both hands behind his head.

"Satisfied?"

Katara nodded. Of course Zuko would be fine. He'd told her himself that whatever was bugging him had nothing to do with her, or Sokka, or Aang. She was just a little tense.

Honestly, who wouldn't be? In the past couple of weeks she'd helped organize a massive evacuation, nearly been skewered by a knife-throwing crazy, gotten lost in a swamp filled with shrieking birds and saw visions of her dead mother.

Plus she had Waterbending practice _and_ she had to cook every night. Even if Sokka wasn't as sexist as he used to be (Spirits bless Suki) she still did the laundry, too. Everything but his socks. Sokka could wash those himself.

Sokka watched the tension drain from his sister's shoulders. He hated seeing her upset. Sometimes it seemed like there was nothing he could do, but in this particular instance he could.

"Tell you what. As soon as we find an Earthbending teacher for Aang, we'll go back. Okay? I promise."

A wide grin broke over Aang's face. "That's a great idea, Sokka!"

Katara smiled. It was a good idea.

"We have to find an Earthbending teacher first, remember?"

"Oh, that shouldn't be too hard," Aang replied breezily.

"Aang!" she protested, "we've been searching for weeks!"

"I've got a good feeling, okay? Just trust me on this."

***

Sunlight filtered through the trees, shining green through the new leaves sprouting soft and bright from the branches. Birds sang radiant arias, the notes ringing out clearly across a wide stream meandering through the dappled forest. Near the bank a section of the water ran low, rippling over smooth round stones. A figure in pale grey lay on his back in the shallows, caught against the river rocks. Water lapped gently around him, tugging at his feet and whispering on past to join the deeper currant.

Warm.

That was the first thing Zuko noticed. Sunlight warm against his face, bright enough to turn the inside of his eyelids red. The top half of his body was dry, almost hot and the cool stream water felt almost refreshing in comparison. For a long time he just stayed still, relishing the sensation. He sighed.

Against all reason, he had survived. He was free.

Sudden barking laughter erupted from his throat and he pushed himself up. There was a flurry in the treetops above him as the birds reacted to the unfamiliar sound. A brief incredulous smile flashed across his face, and he watched the branches sway, bright snatches of color flicking through the green. He scrambled to his feet, leaning slightly to try and find a sense of balance on the uneven streambed.

Zuko reeled like a drunkard, bare feet stumbling over the loose, algae-coated rocks underfoot. Eyes closed, he lifted his face to the sky, arms held out for balance as he swayed. He could feel the sunlight seeping through his skin, into his blood, into his bones. It filled the emptiness inside of him, driving away the clinging chill that had settled like a parasite in his chest. He spread his fingers, and a soft breeze filtered past, whispering sweet promises in his ear.

Across the stream, he heard a sudden gasp and the crash of pottery breaking against stone.

His eyes snapped open.

A young woman in Earth Kingdom clothing stared at him across the water, one hand pressed over her mouth. A shattered water jug lay at her feet on the bank. Zuko stumbled for balance and fell, landing on his butt with his hands splayed beside him.

_No, no no no nononono_.

There was no way she wouldn't realize what he was. Even if she somehow didn't recognize his face, there was the iron shackle plainly visible on his ankle. He wasn't sure how close he was to General Fong's base, but in all likelihood he hadn't traveled too far. Whatever village she had come from no doubt depended on the fort for protection. She was probably a soldier's girlfriend, or daughter…

It was unlikely she'd come after him herself, though. They stared at each other for a moment longer, and then the girl picked up her skirts and ran. Zuko stayed frozen for a moment before it hit him that she was going back for reinforcements. Then he scuttled away like a crab and plunged into the forest, bare feet numb to the rocks and branches slicing into his unprotected skin.

He ran until his breath turned ragged and burned in his chest, collapsing at the foot of a tree and curling up to relieve the pressure on his lungs. His feet stung but he could ignore that for now. He had more important concerns. His breathing slowed, and he felt the grip of panic loosen ever so slightly. In his fear, he had simply fled in the direction opposite of the immediate danger, but now he needed to stop and consider his next move. If it was morning, as it seemed to be, than the stream ran south and he was now on the west side, between it and the ocean. If he kept running west he could reach the coast, but this close to Fong's base it was probably under Earth Kingdom control.

He had to go south. That much he was sure of. If he kept to the forest, away from Earth Kingdom settlements, he could make it. All he had to do now was follow the coastline and eventually he'd reach Fire Nation territory. Everything would be all right, then.

The only problem was, he had no idea how far south he needed to travel, and occupation of the west coast was subject to change radically depending on the tide of the war. Even in the past three years areas he had known as safe changed back to enemy territory, and previously hostile ports shifted allegiance to his father.

He winced slightly. Stumbling half dressed, starving and battered into the nearest friendly town wasn't going to improve _that _relation very much. He had let himself get captured, and acquired no useful information from the Avatar, his friends, or their allies while in custody. He hadn't even tried. If there was any way to make his father think less of him, this was probably it. On the other hand, it was imperative to reach his own forces. Even if they looked down on him as a failure they would have to take him in. Exile or not, they couldn't very well turn him away. They'd at least have to get the shackle off.

He made a face, tearing off the bottom edge of his shirt and wrapping it around his ankle. The flesh was bruised and raw underneath- he'd have to be careful not to let it get infected. He straightened his clothes as best he could, ignoring the fact that the belt seemed longer that he remembered. Steadying himself against the tree, he glanced at the sun's position, got his bearings, and moved on.

Several hours later he knelt at the edge of a smaller stream and reconsidered his plan. His progress was painfully slow. He was weak and tired, but more importantly he was hungry. Water he could find. The western coast was riddled with tributaries and rivers. So the problem was food. Even if the forest was filled with fruits and nuts (which it wasn't, since it was just beginning to bloom), he had no knowledge of botany, no way of knowing what was safe to eat.

He knew three styles of formal calligraphy, he could recite 73 verses of the epic of Ming Zhi Lao the Great, and he knew maritime navigation. He could fight barehanded, with swords, and of course with fire. He could hold his breath for nearly three minutes straight. But nowhere had he learned to deal with the situation facing him now.

He'd have to go west after all, at least until he saw signs of life. It was dangerous, but he had no other choice. Not if he wanted to survive.

Zuko took another long drink from the stream, and struck westward.

He almost couldn't believe it when he saw a thin wisp of smoke rising above the tree tops. It was a single column, which meant a single dwelling. Much safer than trying to sneak into a village. Out here in the middle of nowhere, it would have to be self-sufficient. Maybe there was an orchard…

He reached the farmhouse early the next morning. Farm animals grazed in a pen near a large barn, and as he stepped out of the wood a cacophony rose in the morning air and he shrank back, pressing against a tree.

There was no response from the house. After a moment he realized no one was home.

_What are the odds of that?_

He stepped out from the trees again, and slipped quickly into the barn. There was an empty space in the floor the size and shape of a wagon. Fresh ruts ran down the road, confirming the farm's vacancy.

Ignoring the squawking animals outside, he rummaged through the barn until he found a collection of well-worn tools. He spread them out on the ground, and grabbed a hammer and chisel from the pile.

Zuko took a deep breath, propped up his leg, and set the chisel blade against the thick iron. He held the hammer awkwardly, near the head. He knew the basic idea, of course, but had no experience with tools- only weapons.

The first blow hit solidly, and he sighed in relief as the chisel bit into the ancient iron. A little more confident, he lifted the hammer and struck again, harder. This time the blow went wild. The chisel slipped, glanced off the shackle and sank into his ankle.

Zuko froze, staring at the short column of metal stuck in his leg. It had hit the thin flesh of his shin, where there was almost no muscle at all over the bone. After a moment he dropped the hammer, gripped the chisel with both hands and pulled.

There wasn't much blood, and the chisel had barely nicked the bone. He hissed through his teeth. There was no way he could free himself like this- another mishap and he could lose the use of his leg entirely. He couldn't afford that, not now.

Limping, he abandoned the tools and barn altogether for the house.

The door was thick and solid, but unlocked. He pushed it open and stumbled inside, heart pounding. It was warm inside. There was a wide hearth in the wall opposite, banked with coals. A solid wood table filled most of the room, surrounded by mismatched chairs. He pulled one free and sank into it, leaning against the table. He ought to bandage the wound first. He didn't know how much time he had, or when he'd get another opportunity this good. He'd better make it count.

His stomach growled loudly. The wound could wait.

It wasn't hard to find the supply cupboard, and without knowing what was what inside the crockery he simply lugged as much as he could carry to the table and started opening things, shoving food into his mouth so fast he almost choked. Then he noticed the cellar door, and stumbled down the stairs. There were a few wrinkled apples left in the bottom of a wooden crate, and some baskets of carrots and dried mushrooms. He started to stuff the apples into his shirt and stopped. He wouldn't be able to carry much like that. He started back up the stairs and winced.

Zuko dropped the apples on the table and went through the rest of the house. He found clean cloth for a bandage and tied it tightly, sighing as it stabilized his ankle and relieved the pressure of walking. He really ought to do something about his feet, but as hard as he searched he couldn't find a spare pair of shoes. He did, however, find a long coat in a basket of mending. The elbow had worn through and it was far too large, but at this point Zuko wasn't feeling picky. He overlapped the front and tied it with a sash before wrapping his feet in rags from the basket. Anything was better than hiking barefoot.

Further investigation revealed a leather travel pack, and he stopped to consider what he should take with him. He wouldn't be able to carry anything particularly heavy, so he ignored the crocks of pickled vegetables. He found a cloth sack and filled it with rice from a large stone jar near the fireplace. He threw the apples in, and after a moment's consideration went back down into the cellar. Carrots would keep for a long time, and the mushrooms were light. It was a much safer gamble than trying to eat wild mushrooms, anyway, and as long as he was here…

He grabbed a ceramic bowl from the cupboard, and a wrapped packet of noodles and threw them in the pack. Then a handful of something that looked a lot like bark but smelled like jerked meat. A bamboo-handled knife and a leather water-skin followed.

Poking around the hearth he accidentally knocked free a loose stone, and noticed something hidden underneath. He pulled the stone free, and lifted out a heavy wooden box. Raising the lid with trembling fingers he was rewarded by the sight of gleaming metal. Zuko reached in and pulled out a handful of coins, letting them slip through his fingers back into the box, where they clinked gently.

He closed his eyes and swallowed. Then he gingerly replaced the box in its hiding place. The money was useless in his present condition. He couldn't risk entering an Earth Kingdom town to use it, and it was too heavy to carry.

_Uncle would probably have a proverb about a situation like this. Something about money not being able to solve all your problems. _

Zuko slid the stone back and stood up. The pack was getting full, but there was still a little room at the top. It would be stupid to leave now if there was something else he actually could use hidden elsewhere. A more thorough search of the house didn't turn up anything more but when Zuko accidentally backed into a small bed something fell from the blankets and thumped on the floor. He turned to look and his breath stopped.

Laying on the rough wood floor was a child's toy, a soft floppy armidillo-lion that had been smashed and stretched into a long lumpy shape just the right size to fit in the crook of an elbow.

A toy worn like that was undoubtedly a hand-me-down, and he was suddenly very aware that he standing in someone's home, a _family's_ home. A family with only a handful of animals to their name and their life savings hidden in a box under a rock. He hugged his arms around his chest, looking at the ruin he'd made of the house in his desperate search.

"I need this," he whispered. He'd die out there in the wilderness. He wasn't taking anything he didn't truly require. Maybe it wouldn't hurt so much if he was stealing from some rich merchant, but rich people had walls around their houses, and guards. In another time, that wouldn't have stopped him, but now...

Zuko knelt on the floor and picked up the squashed armadillo-lion. It stared back with dull button eyes. Unbidden, a child's voice rose in his memory, a little boy maybe four years old, bundled up in blue and crying out encouragement to a half-trained teen. Zuko closed his eyes and his grip tightened. _Shut up, brat. I didn't touch you._

After a moment Zuko loosened his grip and placed the toy on the bed. He couldn't put everything back, but he didn't have to leave the house a wreck, either. Silently, Zuko rose to his feet and straightened the bed against the wall.

He couldn't remember exactly where everything had been, but he tried. It still didn't look right. It was as if he had wounded the house somehow, defiled it, and he couldn't take that back. He sank into a chair, staring at the coals glowing in the hearth. As he watched, a charred branch broke off from a larger log, sinking into the ash.

They could come back any minute.

Zuko tightened the straps on the pack and shrugged it on, feeling the contents settle against his back. It was heavier than he'd expected, (or maybe he was just weaker than he'd thought), but he was sure he'd get used to it. He stopped halfway to the door and looked back. The room seemed so small, somehow. Vulnerable. He couldn't just leave it like this.

The moment Yi saw the barn door open he knew something was wrong. He settled the animals and told his wife to stay with kids while he checked out the house. It was empty of any intruders, but it was obvious someone had been there. His wife slipped in quietly once he gave the all clear, and headed straight for the hearth.

"I already checked, Lai. It's still there."

"What did he take, then?"

"Looks like food, mostly."

Lai surveyed the room with a critical eye, and then gasped as her gaze fell on the floor, and the dark reddish stains smeared across it.

"Is that- blood?"

Husband and wife locked eyes for a moment. The stains were dry, but still more red than brown. Fresh.

The youngest child tugged insistently at her sleeve.

"Mama, look!"

He pointed toward the hearth.

Zuko settled the pack on his shoulders and bent forward again. It threw off his center of balance, especially climbing uphill. He stopped at the top and rested, measuring the sun's progress with a critical eye. He could still see the farmhouse in its little clearing. The family was back: Mom, Dad, three kids. He shut his eyes, but they snapped open when he heard a shout ring out from the clearing.

He ducked behind a rock, heart in his mouth as the wind carried a man's voice up the hill.

"Hello! Are you still there?"

No answer.

"It's all right. We aren't mad, we know you're hurt-"

You don't know anything, Zuko thought, but the voice sounded kind. Sincere.

"We can help you…"

Zuko pressed his hands over his ears to block out anything further. They were Earth Kingdom. He couldn't trust them. He couldn't listen. He wouldn't.

After several minutes passed with no response Yi had to admit defeat. He closed the door gently and leaned his back against it.

"Maybe he was too far away to hear you, dear."

"Yeah. Maybe."

Lai led him to the table and he sank into a chair by the fire, now roaring merrily. He let his eyes drop to the stones in front of the blaze, where their unexpected guest had left a simple message with a bit of charcoal. The lines stood out jet black against the stone, every character flawless and even.

_Forgive me. _


	11. Chapter 10

"Running for your life" was a figure of speech. At least, he used to think that. Scrambling through the underbrush with his heart in his mouth could make a man seriously reconsider such assumptions.

He could hear the drum of hoof-beats behind him, and sheer panic lent his legs an extra burst of speed. Panting, he broke through into a clearing and launched himself at a tree with low hanging branches. He pulled himself up as his pursuer crashed through the undergrowth, squealing in rage.

Zuko pulled himself farther up into the dubious safety of the tree and studied his attacker. The beast was large, at least the size of a Kimodo-rhino if not bigger, and its coat was covered in long spines. It had come after him without provocation, and although the teeth revealed in its long snout did not seem to be those of a predator Zuko was not reassured. The beast squealed again, and charged the tree. Zuko wrapped both his arms around the trunk, knuckles white as it shivered under him.

_Thrice-damned pig. Why'd you attack me?_

Zuko closed his eyes as the trunk shook from a second assault and waited for the unmistakable snap of breaking wood. The tree, however, proved stronger than the beast- at least for now.

Cautiously, Zuko opened his eyes and looked out. Whatever-the-hell it was regarded him with baleful eyes and he swallowed, watching it back up for another attempt. Boy and beast watched each other, and then it threw back its head and squealed louder than ever. Zuko tightened his grip on the tree as an even larger specimen broke through the bushes.

This one had tusks, long curving blades growing from its jaw, and Zuko realized the first one had been female, and this was its mate.

_That's what mothers are like. If you mess with their babies, they'll bite you back._

Zuko winced. _This is a lot different than turtleducks, Mom_. It hurt to remember her. He pushed the memory away.

"Stupid animal," he muttered. "I didn't go anywhere near your stupid piglets. Leave me alone."

The larger, male, pig-thing charged the tree and Zuko wrapped both of his legs around the trunk and tried to flatten himself against the bark. The tree held. The Mama- thing left, leaving Daddy circling the tree and occasionally taking swipes at it with his tusks.

Eventually Zuko realized it would never let him down. He could try to fend it off with fire, of course, but it didn't really seem like a feasible plan. Unless he got a lucky hit on the snout it probably wouldn't even feel the flames, and Zuko was wary of losing control in the middle of a forest. Even in the Fire Nation where everything was warm and wet three-quarters of the year forest fires still caused massive devastation. Not to mention with underbrush this thick he could conceivably trap himself in the blaze.

The trees really were awfully close together…

Tightening the pack, Zuko climbed a little higher, lay down on his belly and scooted along a branch. He could feel it narrowing under his hands, bending ever so slightly under his weight. He inched forward a little more and grabbed the tip of a branch from a neighboring tree. Moving very, very slowly he eased himself from one branch to the other, and then to the stability of the second tree.

He glanced back to his previous hiding spot and breathed a silent sigh of relief. The creature might be stubborn, but it wasn't that smart. It was still guarding the first tree. Very carefully, Zuko repeated the tree switch. He stayed in the trees until they thinned out, and dropped silently to the ground. Then he hitched the pack on his shoulders, checked the sun's position and set off again.

That night he slept on the top of a stone outcropping, just in case. He woke the next morning at the base, sore, bruised and mildly surprised that nothing seemed broken from the fall.

"Good thing I didn't try to sleep in a tree…"

He stumbled on, stopping only briefly until he reached a narrow waterfall with a pool at the base. He knelt by the edge and drank. He was covered in grime, the rags were coming loose from his feet and he hadn't eaten very much the previous day. Silently, he stripped most of his clothes and slipped into the pool. The water was cold but it numbed the scratches as well as his throbbing ankle so he didn't try to make it warmer. He scrubbed his body with sand, and washed his clothes as best he could. He dressed wet and then raised his body temperature until steam rose in a tiny cloud and drifted away.

The wound on his ankle didn't seem to be worse, but it wasn't getting better either. Zuko bound it up again, wincing at the pressure.

Unfastening the top strap of his pack, Zuko drew out a small portion of his rapidly dwindling supplies. It had taken a few tries before he figured out whether you were supposed to boil the water first for noodles or rice, but he was finally perfecting a working system. He measured out a handful of rice, and filled the rest of the bowl with water.

He'd discovered the jerky was far easier to eat if it was softened first, so he crumbled a bit into the bowl and then held it in both hands, feeling the sun's energy course through his body, down his arms, through his palms and into the water. Minutes later he shoveled steaming rice into his mouth with his fingers, wincing at the heat but smiling as it filled his gut.

Filling the water-skin, Zuko took one last long drink, shouldered the pack, and started walking again.

After several miles Zuko realized he was singing under his breath. Not a courtly song, either, but a bawdy soldier's ditty extolling an infamous harbor-town. It wasn't the sort of thing a prince should know, and he wasn't sure where he had picked it up. Unconsciously, he had set his pace faster than usual to keep up with the beat. That was the whole purpose of marching songs and sea-shanties, so after a moment he started singing again, under his breath, not to attract attention. Not the same song, though. There were other, less vulgar options available.

***

Miles to the south, Aang was also singing. Happy Nomad songs. His eyes were half-closed and his feet scuffled little puffs of dust from the path.

Sokka hit him in the arm.

"Knock it off. You're going to get that stupid tune stuck in my head forever."

"Aww, too bad."

Sokka glared at his sister. She smiled sweetly, and held up a philosophical finger.

"In the grand scheme of things, there are far worse fates than humming "Secret Tunnel"."

Sokka crossed his arms.

"Aw, c'mon sourpuss. You got your boomerang back, and Aang isn't dead. That's a good day even for your standards."

"People not dying is one of the qualities to make a good day, yes, but it does not automatically make the day good. I've had many bad days were no one died."

Katara stopped walking and regarded him. "If it makes you feel better, I lost my little book with all the notes on the Fire Nation. Those won't be miraculously returning like your boomerang."

"What notes on the Fire Nation?"

"You honestly think I'd spend an hour or more with Zuko on a daily basis for three weeks and not take notes?"

Sokka's face switched from skeptical to distressed.

"And you lost them? How is that supposed to make me feel better, exactly?"

Katara rolled her eyes. "Never mind, then. It wasn't all that useful anyway."

Sokka dropped to the back of the group and Aang ran a bit so he could walk next to Katara instead of behind her.

He used to have a hard time keeping up, but now he was accustomed to her pace. Plus, he'd gotten a little taller in the past couple of months, which meant that his legs were longer, and it was easier to match her stride. True, he was an Airbender and could run as fast as the wind when he felt like it, but that was totally different. He wasn't sure why. They walked together for a while before he caught his breath.

"Did you mean that? Talking to him really didn't help at all?"

"That's- that's not quite what I was trying to- _Aggh_. I don't know. It's like every time I thought I was getting somewhere I hit a wall. Or a shield, or something. I guess it doesn't matter now, anyway. As soon as we find you a teacher, we'll head back."

Aang reached up behind his head. "Yeah, I was thinking about that. If we can't go to Omashu, are we supposed to stay with General Fong? I don't think that's such a good idea, but where are we supposed to go? And when I find a teacher, what if they don't want me to leave?"

"Well, I guess Sokka and I could go back," she started dubiously.

Aang shook his head. "That wouldn't work either. I need you to help me practice Waterbending. I'm still not that good."

Katara frowned. "We can't send Sokka by himself. He'd kill Zuko. Or Zuko would pull some crazy stunt and escape. Either way, not good."

"I notice you're completely avoiding the possibility that the Angry Jerk would kill _me_," Sokka interjected.

Katara stopped walking again, her expression thoughtful. After a moment's consideration she shook her head.

"No."

"What are you crazy?"

Aang raised his eyebrows and waited for Katara's reply. She folded her arms over her chest, brows drawn down over her nose. Her foot tapped in irritation.

"I may not have gotten a complete map of the Fire Nation, or national secrets, but there is one thing I learned from our angry guest which you would do well to remember. He has no interest in you, or me. Only Aang, and then only because Aang is the Avatar. The only way he would ever kill either one of us is self-defense."

"Have you lost your mind? He attacked our village!"

"He threatened our village because he was looking for Aang."

"He told you this himself, did he?"

"Yeah, Sokka, he did. It wasn't an excuse, either. I asked him, he answered. No justifications, no attempts to apologize. Just a statement of fact."

The anger drained from her face and Katara went quiet for a while.

"He tried to bribe me into helping him, once. The pirates, remember?"

Both boys nodded, although Katara was looking at Aang.

"I thought he was just being a jerk, that is was a pathetic attempt at manipulation, but now I wonder. Was he trying to use me to get to you? Or was using me an excuse to let me go?"

"What?"

Katara placed both hands over her face.

"I don't know. Maybe I am crazy. Maybe I just want to see a person where there's nothing left but emptiness and anger. If there's actually someone in there we have a chance, you know? But if there isn't…"

Sokka pulled her arms down.

"If there isn't it's not your fault. Come on, let's get going. Crazy town may have decided they like us now, but I'm not going to forget the whole "boiled in oil" thing anytime soon. I'd like to put some distance in, if you don't mind."

They trudged on. Sokka watched as Aang made hand puppets and Katara laughed. The wacky city of Chin vanished beyond the horizon. Sokka sighed. He knew helping Aang was the priority right now, but he'd really hoped to see Suki again when that goal had landed them back on Kyoshi.

_Oyagi said we had inspired Suki to do more with her life. Maybe we'll run into her somewhere._

_I'd like that._

***

Zuko was almost getting used to bathing in freezing water. It was still a shock every time, but better that than being covered in grime and letting bad things get into his body. Running a hand over his chest, though, made him uncomfortably aware of the ribs under his fingers where there used to be muscle. Solid muscle.

Mostly he tried to ignore the changes to his physiology. He didn't remember being especially vain before getting half his face burned away, and in the years since he'd certainly discarded any illusions that his body was anything more than a vehicle. It was just a body. Nothing special. He kept fit because he had to. He needed to be strong.

He wasn't strong now.

Dragging himself from the frigid water, he ran one hand over his face. He didn't have time for this. Shaking himself physically and mentally, Zuko dressed and bound up his feet. He kept having to tie the rags differently, to avoid letting them shred into uselessness. Maybe he could steal something off a clothesline at the next village he passed.

His conscience still twinged a bit when he took things, but he shut it up with reminders that he was running blind through enemy territory and starving besides.

He wasn't sick, at least. That was something.

***

Tyro hid a smile as his son turned, self-consciously touching the new growth on his chin and upper lip. He'd missed five years of his son's life, five years of despair and a deep-seated certainty that resistance was hopeless, useless.

In that time Haru had grown up, and not just in stature. It had taken the irrepressible will of a young woman to break the invisible chains around Tyro's heart, and that same girl had pushed his little boy to prove he wasn't a child any longer. The fuzzy patches on Haru's face were only an outward sign of that maturity.

Taking back the town had not been easy, and at times Tyro wished the Avatar, Katara, and her brother Sokka had stayed to help. Then he remembered that as long as he and the other Earthbenders stood together, they would remain strong, like their element.

The Avatar was powerful, but he was just a boy still. He had enough riding on his shoulders. If the Earth Kingdom were to endure, it would have to be defended by its own people.

Haru pulled his hand away from his face, suddenly self-conscious. He'd always felt a little distant from many of the local teens, but now he was a hero. He didn't have to hide his Bending anymore. True, sometimes the attention was a little _distracting_ but then he remembered the prison rig, and how important it was not to let their past successes make them complacent.

The surrounding area depended on the league of Earthbenders for protection, and Haru wasn't going to let them down. Resisting the urge to touch the fuzz on his upper lip, he followed his father up into the hills.

It was a scouting mission only. Any sign of trouble, and Haru would set back to town for back-up. They weren't expecting trouble.

On a ridge overlooking the (now abandoned) mine, a flock of birds suddenly took wing, and the forest rang loud with their cries. Haru tensed, eyes searching the undergrowth for any signs of disturbance. Tyro knelt and placed his hand on a bare rock. At a limited distance, he could feel the resonance within the earth. It wasn't a perfect ability, but he would be able to feel the pounding footsteps of iron-shod Fire Nation soldiers.

Nothing.

Haru caught the shake of his head, and relaxed slightly. They'd experienced false alarms before. It was only natural that they saw figures in the shadows. Father and son continued on their way.

When they reached the ridge they found only broken branches and displaced dirt. Even a single Fire Nation scout, no matter how stealthy, would leave telltale human footprints. This looked more like the shambling gait of an injured animal. There weren't even discernable tracks.

"Come on, Haru. There's nothing here."

"We should go back, get more men."

Tyro smiled wearily and shook his head.

"No. There's no need to panic everyone over nothing."

High in the branches, narrowed eyes peered warily through the veil of leaves. The voices below softened in tone but grew louder as the two Earthbenders neared.

_Great. That's just perfect. Now they've decided to stop and chat under the same damn tree I'm hiding in. Couldn't possibly just finish their patrol or whatever. Oh, no. _

"… I just don't want to take that risk. It's bad enough we don't have the strength to take back Han Ling. "

"Han Ling has been under Fire Nation control for decades. It was one of their earliest colonies. We'll just have to wait until the tide turns. In the meantime, the best thing we can do is protect what we have."

"I know. I just wish there was a way to do more. It makes me nervous to have a Fire Nation presence so close. I know there's no signs of mobilization, but if they decided to attack-"

"We'd stop them."

Haru smiled at the conviction in his father's voice.

"She really got to you, huh?"

Tyro's expression softened.

"As I recall, she got to you first." Tryo placed his hand on Haru's shoulder. "I couldn't very well let them hurt my boy. Katara is a wonderful girl, Haru, but she's not the reason I fought back after five years of submission. You are."

"I only fought back because of her, though."

"Well, then, I guess it's contagious."

Haru smiled at the joke, but then his face grew serious.

"How did you do it, Dad? Everyone acted so defeated. They were broken. Even you. Even me."

Tyro draped his arm around Haru's shoulders and led him further down the path, away from the unnoticed watcher.

"I think sometimes a man's spirit gets tired from fighting. It goes to sleep, goes dormant. But you can't ever truly change that spirit. You can't change his true nature. And when the time is right, it wakes up again. Like a Badgermole after winter hibernation."

Haru laughed at the image. "His spirit says "_Grr I'm hungry_"?"

"Not exactly. More like _"Enough. Time for this situation to change, and anyone who gets in my way will be squashed"."_

Haru smiled and nodded. He followed his father down the path, still vigilant to his surroundings, but no longer as tense. If the Fire Nation wanted his village, they'd have to fight for it.

And they'd lose.

Zuko waited until he was absolutely sure they were gone before descending. He cursed under his breath as the tree bark scraped his palms and tore his pants. Silk was supposed to be strong, and warm. He missed his armor, although it would have made climbing up and hiding in trees a bit difficult. More than that, though, he missed having boots.

Or even just plain old shoes.

The pack was almost empty. He'd "liberated" supplies from similar villages along his way, but there was no way he was messing with this one. It hadn't taken long to realize the Earthbenders belonged to the same group that had taken over a prison rig some months earlier, even before the older one had mentioned Katara.

On the other hand, he had a pretty good fix on his current location now, and if they were worried about retaliation from an established Fire Nation settlement, well, that was the best news he'd heard for a long time.

Not that he was accustomed to getting news of any kind these days. Still, there was a hint of a smile on his face as he turned south, limping his way almost silently through the underbrush.

That night he emptied the pack of everything edible. The following morning he debated whether it was worth carrying it any more, and decided it would be stupid to leave it behind.

He had to stop far too often: either to rest, refill his water-skin, or soak his aching feet in the icy snowmelt running down the hills. The soil was loose and crumbly, and the slopes got steeper as he neared the coastal range north of the Dao He delta. He trudged onward, head down, shoulders hunched forward, until a glance to check the position of the sun revealed smoke on the horizon.

Dark smoke: not the wisp of a single hearth, or the light grey haze of a village. It was _coal_ smoke, and that meant he was close. He was almost home free.

The relief he felt at the sight of it overwhelmed concern for his surroundings, and as he stumbled onward the lip of the ridge he was climbing gave way. He lost his balance and pitched forward, then flung his body backwards to compensate. A scraggly bush on the slope caught his fall, and he winced as sharp thorns tore through his coat and held fast. Clods of dirt bounced down the hill, a slope sheared nearly vertical by previous landslides.

Very cautiously, Zuko regained his feet and tried to untangle himself from the barbed limbs. The leather pack protected his back somewhat, but the thorns were sticky and refused to release his sleeves. After several tense minutes trying to reach the knot of his sash and frantic seconds trying to untie it before the barbed limbs could pull his arms away from his body, Zuko burned through the sash, slipped out of the garment and slid down the incline, loose scree shifting under him in a wave.

He landed in a cloud of dust and dislodged rocks. Coughing, he looked back up the slope and decided there was no way in hell he was trying to climb back up to retrieve the coat and pack still held fast near the ridge.

_I don't need them anymore. I can hold out- I'll probably reach Han Ling before nightfall_.

Dusting off his pants, Zuko went on.

As predicted, before night fell he hit a road, smooth and well maintained. Zuko hummed slightly as he walked, scuffling the loose dust under his toes. After so long trekking over sharp rock and fallen branches the road felt like heaven to his battered feet. They still protested every step, (a protest echoed by the rest of his body) but every step took him closer to a salvation so near, so real that he could smell it.

He'd actually done the impossible. He escaped an inescapable prison, navigated hostile territory without getting caught, survived in the wilderness despite the uselessness of a city-bred education, and now he was finally, finally closing in on his destination.

He'd made it. Against all odds, he'd made it. Civilization was just a little way up the road. There would be people there. Fire Nation citizens. With food, and clothes, and buildings. Beds. Chopsticks, so he wouldn't have to eat with his fingers.

His hands were disgusting. The nails were cracked, there was blood around the edges and dirt imbedded in the lines of his palms. Maybe they had a bathhouse. Baths cost money. He didn't have money, but that didn't matter. They had to take him in. Then he could sleep. Under a roof.

_I'll have to find a healer. No, a blacksmith first, then a healer. My ankle's not that bad, after all. It can wait a little longer. I should probably check to see who's in charge first. Tell them what happened-what's the word? Ah yes. Report. Do I report to the Mayor or the Captain of the local Militia or what?_

He followed the curve of the road and his eyes were met by the sight of a freestanding notice board. They were a common fixture in the colonies as well as home. He couldn't read the posters at this distance, but relevant information would be posted there, so travelers knew the latest news before entering town. It would be best to check, just in case.

It always made him nervous to see the wanted bulletin with the blue mask, even if the reward wasn't very large. Still, as long as the poster was there it meant no one had figured it out. No one except for Zhao, of course, but Zhao was dead. Apparently, he had taken Zuko's secret to his watery grave.

_What was I thinking, anyway? Oh, right. If Zhao had the Avatar I was screwed. _

Zuko scanned the rest of the flyers for news of Uncle. He hadn't thought about him much since leaving the Water Tribe ship. Actually, that was a lie. Zuko thought about Uncle all the time. It just didn't help, so he pushed the thoughts away. Now, though, now he might actually get answers. News about the Royal Family was always big, there was bound to be something about what had happened at the North Pole and-

There.

Zuko traced the artists rendering with a dirty finger. Even in paint, he looked serene, completely unfazed by the charges laid against him in stark black ink. Zuko let his breath whistle through his teeth. If there was a bounty out, Uncle must have gotten away somehow. You don't put a price on someone who's already caught.

No one paid money for a dead man.

Uncle was alive, then. On the run, yes, but Zuko knew from experience that his Uncle's ability to play the harmless old man was just that- an act. He had been the heir to the throne once, and while he no longer possessed the ambition of a Prince and General, he still had the experience. He was cunning, when he felt like expending the energy to plot and scheme. His skill with Pai Sho was proof enough of that.

Satisfied his uncle was safe, Zuko let his eyes drift down the page and found himself staring at his own face.

It wasn't, really. It was a painting, like the one of Uncle, and it showed him as he had looked weeks (or was it months?) ago. Still, there was no hiding the scar. No hiding from what it meant.

His name was spelled wrong, but he knew it wasn't a mistake.

Zuko stared, rooted to the spot. His good eye went wide and stayed that way.

_This isn't happening. This can't be real. It can't be. I didn't do anything wrong-_

Zuko reached forward and pulled the poster free. It crinkled in his hand, the paper stiff, the ink bright.

"I did what you wanted," he whispered, and the words fell from cracked lips and evaporated without touching the ground. "I did what you wanted."

_You can't do this. It can't be real. I fought so hard. All the way here. I fought so hard. I came all this way… _

He closed his eyes.

_Azula grinned wickedly from the foot of his bed. "Dad's gonna kill you," she sang. Zuko glared at her, clenching the sheets between his fingers. Her expression turned serious. "Really. He is."_

"_Ha Ha. Very Funny Azula."_

He opened his eyes. The memory lingered a moment longer.

_Dad would never do that to me._

Two sets of gold eyes stared out from the paper. One a traitor, and the other a failure. The only crime worse than treason.

He forced his hands to still, and his numb fingers creased the paper into a little square. The little square went into his belt. Wind ruffled his hair but he didn't notice. Dust settled into the cuts on his feet but he didn't feel it.

The road was empty. The forest was silent.

No one knew he was there.

No one had seen him.

No one was chasing him.

Zuko ran.


	12. Chapter 11

Aang lay on his back and watched the stars winking at him for a moment before rolling over and closing his eyes, a slight smile tweaking the corners of his mouth. He finally had a teacher. An Earthbending teacher. The best teacher in the whole entire world: Toph Bei Fong. An Earthbender so powerful, she could "see" with her feet!

Now if he could just stop Toph and Katara from going at each other's throats, he might actually learn Earthbending. True, Katara had spats with Sokka occasionally but this was a bit- scarier.

Plus there was something following them and no one could get any sleep.

As if reading his thoughts, Toph's voice broke the silence.

"That thing is back!"

Sokka groaned. "Well, how far away is it? Maybe we can close our eyes for just a few minutes."

A plume of smoke bloomed over the horizon.

"I don't think so, Sokka," Aang replied, throwing Appa's saddle onto the sleeping bison's back. Appa groaned.

High the air, the four children slumped in the saddle, exhausted.

"Seriously, what is that thing?" Katara mumbled.

"And how does it keep finding us?" Toph added.

Aang flicked the reins over Appa's head. "I don't know, but this time I'm gonna make sure we lose 'em."

Sokka gazed blearily over the edge of the saddle.

"Mebbe is Zuko," he slurred.

Katara gave him a dirty look.

"That's absurd and impossible. It's not Zuko."

Toph raised an eyebrow. "Who's Zuko?"

"Angry freak with a ponytail," Sokka mumbled, burying his face into his rolled sleeping bag.

Katara made an exasperated sound in the back of her throat.

"Sokka, he doesn't _have_ a ponytail anymore. Chief Arnook cut it off."

"Oh, yeah,"

"Besides, he's locked up."

Sokka raised his head to look at her. "Maybe he got away."

"And now he has crazy funding and some kind of monster machine and all kinds of support from the Fire Nation Military? _I don't think so_."

Toph turned away and leaned over the front of the saddle. Sokka and Katara continued to bicker.

"So, who's this guy, exactly?"

Aang turned around halfway to reply.

"Well, technically he's the Prince of the Fire Nation. Or at least, he was. He got in trouble somehow. I'm not actually too clear on that point, but the part you should probably understand is that he was kind of tracking us all over the world. Until we got to the North Pole, and he got caught. We left him with General Fong."

"You want to run that by me again, Twinkletoes?"

"He's the Firelord's son, he's trying to catch me as punishment-"

"Not that. The part with the General."

"Oh. Well, we couldn't drag him with us-"

"No, what I'm having trouble with is that earlier today Katara was trying to fill me in, before she got all cranky, and she said some crazy General buried her alive so you'd go into the Avatar State."

"Yeah…"

"Same General?"

"Yeesss…"

"You left a prisoner of war with a psychopathic meathead?"

Aang turned to face forward again as it finally hit him that he had, in fact, done just that. Hit him with the force of a barn sour ostrich-horse kicking him in the gut.

_I left Zuko with a psychopathic meathead_.

"We have to go back."

Sokka and Katara stopped arguing and looked up. They both recognized the tone is his voice. Sokka spoke first, gesturing emphatically with his arms.

"Oh, no. No way are we turning back now. There's a _thing_ chasing us, and with all likelihood Zuko is involved somehow."

Katara smacked him in the arm.

"For the last time, _it's not Zuko_!"

It wasn't.

***

Zuko was lost.

He didn't particularly care. What difference did it make if he knew where he was? He wasn't going anywhere in particular, just _away_. Away from what he couldn't quite articulate, but the threat of it possessed the same substance as the stony path under his bleeding feet.

In a way nothing had changed. He avoided well-traveled roads, stole what he could carry from farms along the way, and tried to supplement his diet with wild plants he recognized as edible. He didn't recognize any plants as edible.

The difference, really, was that he had no destination. He was running _from_, not _to_. He no longer paid attention to direction, choosing his course by heading away from anything that resembled human civilization. He wasn't taking care of himself anymore either. The rags tore into strips and he let them, stumbling onward regardless of the blisters and cuts on his feet. The cold iron shackle rubbed his ankle raw before the blood crusted over to form a protective scab. Dirt settled in the creases of his clothing. His hair fell in matted clumps over his face, turned brown with dust.

It was spring, and ought to be getting warmer, but now he found himself climbing up into the mountains where the air held biting chill. Day and night blurred together, and there were moments when he could no longer separate dream from waking life. Part of him wanted to give in, lie down and just stop breathing. Part of him wanted to go back, to turn himself over to his father's justice if only to have a roof over his head and something to eat. He did neither. He kept walking.

***

Katara hunkered down in Appa's saddle and suppressed a shiver.

"I can't believe those girls followed us all the way from Omashu."

"I still think we could've taken them," Toph muttered.

Katara stared at her incredulously. Sure, Toph was an amazing Earthbender (and that was saying a lot, since Katara knew King Bumi) and the twelve year old had no problem disposing of all the crazy Earth Rumble guys in five minutes flat, but this was different.

"Are you kidding? The crazy blue Firebending and the flying daggers are bad enough, but last time we saw them one of those girls did something that took my bending away. That's scary." She rubbed her arm, looking out over the horizon as the sun peeked over the crest of a mountain.

The dawn light spread through the sky, casting a soft pink glow over everything it touched. Katara closed her eyes and felt the sunlight warm on her face and for a moment she felt better, despite everything. Then Sokka opened his mouth.

"Oh no, the sun is rising! We've been up all night with no sleep."

Aang was tired, too, but he tried to sound reassuring. "Sokka, we'll be okay."

"Are you sure? I've never not slept before! What if I fall asleep now and something happens? And something _always_ happens!"

"Every time we land, those girls are there, so we'll just have to keep flying," Katara replied. Honestly, Sokka could be such a baby sometimes.

"We can't keep flying forever," Aang responded wearily.

***

There were few places left in the world that had survived a century-long war untouched. Kyoshi Island had been one, before the Avatar landed there with Zuko hot on his heels. The Yin mountain range, north of the Dao He, was even more protected despite its location on the western coast of the Earth Kingdom. To put it simply, while the region teemed with wildlife and wildly blooming plants, it wasn't a very hospitable locale for people. The slopes were too steep to support any kind of large farming operations or settlements, and it was far, far easier to live, travel and fight on the floodplain further south.

Self-sustaining villages nestled in the secluded valleys, and the people who lived there went about their lives much the same way they always had. It was a hard life for those who weren't born into it, and since there was nothing of any real value there for the Fire Nation to target and the river offered a safer alternative to any of the mountain passes, most everyone avoided the jagged peaks altogether.

Zuko was not everyone. He wandered further into the twisted hills and valleys, absently noticing that while the topography was rather vertical, it was nothing like the volcanic islands he remembered in his homeland. The air was drier, and thin. Instead of branching out over his head in swooping boughs most of the trees stood straight and tall, bristling with needles or short flat scales instead of wide leaves. Some of them even had spiky bark, making them look more like decorated columns than anything organic.

In another state of mind, the scenery would be breathtaking. As it was, Zuko had a hard enough time breathing without paying the slightest bit of attention to his surroundings.

***

Aang yawned. "So, what's the plan?"

Toph slumped in the saddle, her face framed by the large circular opening in the side "Don't know… too tired to think."

Katara and Sokka drooped against the pile of packs and sleeping bags at the back of the saddle.

"I'm sure we'll come up with something after a short nap," Katara supplied.

"Yes! Sleep!" Sokka agreed.

Apparently, Appa felt the same way. All four passengers felt the bottoms of their stomachs lurch as the bison abruptly dropped underneath them.

"What's going on?" Toph shouted, clinging to the saddle as it fell away. Momo clung to her foot, green eyes wide, his long ears flying.

"Appa fell asleep!" Aang yelled, desperately gripping the reins. Katara grabbed Sokka's hand and held tight as her brother twisted his hands into the straps holding their cargo. Appa kept falling and they all screamed, but the bison did not wake. Sokka pulled Katara closer and she clung to him. Aang gained a hold on Appa's fur and crawled over the bison's massive head to stare at one of his eyes.

"Wake up buddy!" he cried.

Appa's eye opened slowly, and he flicked his rudder-like tail, abruptly stopping his descent. Everyone slammed down, and then scrambled for purchase as he lurched forward, crashing into treetops in an effort to control his descent.

He hit the ground at an angle, plowing a furrow in the soft soil as his forward momentum spent itself out. Then the great eyes closed again, and Appa's head hit the ground.

Aang slid off and walked away slowly.

"Appa's exhausted."

Sokka and Katara passed him, sleeping bags held to their chests. Toph flopped down on her stomach.

"Okay," Sokka declared, "we've put a lot of distance between us and them. The plan now is to follow Appa's lead and get some sleep."

Katara followed him, but couldn't help adding, "Of course, we could have gotten some sleep earlier if Toph didn't have such issues."

Toph slammed her hands against the ground and it cracked. "What!"

She jumped to her feet.

Always the peacemaker, Aang held out his hands to prevent another fight. "Alright, alright! Everyone's exhausted. Let's just get some rest."

Toph wasn't having it.

"No! I want to hear what Katara has to say. You think I have _issues_."

Katara held her face in a serene expression but her voice didn't quite match.

"I'm just saying, maybe if you helped out earlier we could've set up our camp faster and gotten some sleep and then maybe we wouldn't be in this situation!"

Aang watched the situation escalate with a growing sense of alarm.

"You're blaming _me_ for this!?"

Katara hurled down her sleeping bag and beckoned with her hands. Toph clenched her hands into fists and advanced, mouth set in a thin line. Aang stepped between them.

"No, no! She's not blaming you!"

"No, I'm blaming her!" Katara affirmed, glaring at the younger girl.

"Hey!" Toph shoved Aang out of the way. "I never asked you for diddly doo da. I carry my own weight! Besides, if there's anyone to blame, it's sheddy over here!"

Aang landed on Appa's back picked, his composure dissolving in an instant. "What? You're blaming _Appa_?"

Toph neared the giant shaggy beast in question.

"Yeah! You wanna know how they keep finding us?" She pulled a wad of fur from Appa's side and opened her fingers, letting the wind catch it and float away. "He's leaving a trail everywhere we go!"

Aang leapt down to confront her.

"How dare you blame Appa! He saved your life three times today! If there's anyone to blame, it's you! You're always talking about how you carry your own weight, but you're not! He is! Appa's carrying your weight! He never had a problem flying when it was just the three of us!"

Toph didn't say anything, not immediately. Then she kicked the ground and her bag practically flew into her hands.

"I'm outta here."

And she walked away.

Sokka stepped in front of her with his arms spread to the side-

"Wait-"

-but she simply moved the earth underneath him and he slid to the side. She kept walking.

It took a while before Aang reacted.

"What did I just do? I can't believe I yelled at my Earthbending teacher. Now she's gone."

He sank to the ground and Katara came up behind him.

"I know. We're all just trying to get used to each other, and I was so mean to her."

"Yeah, you two were pretty much jerks."

"Thanks, Sokka."

"No problem."

Katara ignored him. "We need to find Toph and apologize."

Well, obviously, Sokka thought, but all he said was, "Okay, but what are we going to do about the tank full of dangerous ladies chasing us?"

Aang echoed Toph's earlier gesture, pulling a clump of fur and letting it float away, his expression thoughtful.

"I have a plan."

***

Zuko stopped to catch his breath, shapes flickering at the edge of his vision. He felt dizzy, and it wasn't just from the altitude. There was a nagging suspicion in the back of his mind that he ought to be more _lucid_ than this, but it was overwhelmed by general exhaustion.

He was still running. No solutions had presented themselves, so he was still stuck in an unsolvable predicament. There had to be something. So what if he wasn't trained for this sort of situation? He wasn't trained for a lot of things and still managed just fine. Right?

There had to be something. Some reason he kept walking forward, upward, eastward, even if he couldn't remember what that reason could possibly be. There had to be something useful locked away in his brain to get him out of this, but he could only recall random facts, worthless to his current situation.

No, he did remember something. Something about survival: the law of threes. Three minutes without air, three days without water, three weeks without food. He didn't remember finding water, or drinking it, but he was still alive so he must have. He was still alive, right? Threes. Three weeks, three years, three wishes. If wishes were fishes he'd have something to eat.

"You're pathetic."

Zuko looked at his sister with a bit of surprise. What was she doing here? More importantly, why was she _nine_?

"Don't look at me, brother. It's not my fault your mind is as weak as a day old kitten-snake."

"Shut up," he muttered. She laughed.

"Or you'll what?"

"Don't you have anything better to do?"

"Than make fun of your miserable excuse of an existence? Not really." She grinned.

Zuko placed both hands against the trunk of a tree to steady himself. Azula flickered. He blinked as ripples ran through her body. He needed to sit down for a while, catch his breath.

"You aren't giving up are you? That would be a shame. All that wasted energy, and for what?"

"Shut up, Azula."

She shrugged and vanished. Zuko slumped against the tree, panting. His fingers felt stiff, almost brittle. He couldn't feel his feet at all anymore, which was probably just as well. A detached part of his mind noted that he must be in pretty bad shape if he was seeing things that weren't there. Of course, he might actually be dreaming. It was hard to tell anymore. Everything was muddled, blurred together.

Why was he sitting down? He had to keep going. He had to go-

Somewhere.

He had to go. Keep going. Up the mountain, crawling when it got too steep to walk. He couldn't stop. It was important, even if he couldn't remember why. He staggered to his feet again and pieces of the world broke off and fell away in the corners of his eyes.

***

Toph was not going to apologize. Not to Aang, or Katara, or Sokka, or Appa (stupid lump shed fur like crazy). She was especially not going to apologize to the old man she had knocked over. What was he doing out in the middle of nowhere, anyway? What was _she_ doing here? And why the heck did he have a teapot?

The tea smelled really good though. She had to give him that.

Iroh smiled as he poured a cup and handed it to his unexpected visitor.

"Here is your tea. You seem a little too young to be traveling alone."

Toph accepted the cup but didn't drink it immediately. "You seem a little too old."

He laughed at that. "Perhaps I am."

"I know what you're thinking. I look like I can't handle being by myself."

"I wasn't thinking that," Iroh responded softly, and poured himself a cup. He breathed the steam and smiled gently.

"You wouldn't even let me pour my own cup of tea." She took a sip and was pleasantly surprised. Whoever the old man was, his tea was _good_.

"I poured your tea because I wanted to and for no other reason," he replied, gesturing with his free hand despite knowing she couldn't see it.

"People see me and think I'm weak. They want to take care of me. But I can take care of myself by myself."

"You sound like my nephew. Always thinking you need to do things on your own without anyone's support. There is nothing wrong with letting people who love you help you. Not that I love you; I just met you!"

Toph laughed. "So, where is your nephew?"‌

The old man paused for a moment as if considering his words and not finding the right ones. Toph lowered her teacup.

"Is he lost?"

"Yes, a little bit. His life has recently changed and he's going through very difficult times. I'm afraid I was not able to be there for him, and I'm trying to fix that."

"So… now you're following him."

"Not exactly following. Just hoping I'm on the right track to find him again."

She considered this for a moment and then finished her tea. "Your nephew is very lucky, even if he doesn't know it." She handed the empty cup back to him. "Thank you."

Iroh inclined his head. "My pleasure. Sharing tea with a fascinating stranger is one of life's true delights."

"No, thank you for what you said. It helped me."

"I'm glad."

Toph shouldered her bag. She started to leave and then paused. He really was a very nice man. He deserved some advice in return.

"About your nephew- Maybe you should tell him that you need _him_ too. When you find him, I mean."

Iroh smiled and inclined his head. Then he watched her leave, bare feet solidly connected to the earth she manipulated as easily as unbaked dough.

_Fascinating child,_ he thought absently. _I wonder…_

***

Zuko blinked as the trees turned red and ordered themselves into straight rows. He staggered down the hall of columns. He had to find her. Mom couldn't just be _gone_. Azula was lying. Azula always lied. She wasn't the only one...

His footfalls echoed in the vastness of the chamber, so small as he ran, but the door never got any closer. The columns never ended. They just rushed past to either side of him, reaching up into the shadowed vault. He couldn't reach the doorway. He couldn't escape, the hall went on forever, an endless path of columns in red and black and gold. The floor sagged under him and Zuko looked down. He was sinking into the floor, the polished wood warped around his shoes and when he tried to pull himself free and lunge for the door it wasn't there anymore.

"Maybe you can find a nice Earth Kingdom family to take you in."

How had he gotten back to his bedroom? He was trying to reach the garden, dammit, he had to leave, but Azula wouldn't get out of the way.

_You have to go backwards to get ahead._

Zuko wasn't sure where the thought had come from but it hardly mattered. He turned away from his sister's mocking grin and dove forward. The room tore like the rice paper background of a theater set and he stumbled and fell to his knees.

The floor was stone, set in square tiles, and Zuko knew without looking up that he was kneeling in the Agni Kai arena. It was dark, quiet. Empty.

Empty but not silent. The darkness reverberated with harsh whispers. Words burned into his memory, some spoken but others merely implied. Suggested, but no less real for all of that- venomous declarations whose source could not be denied or argued with. _Fool. Coward. Why didn't you fight? Useless whelp. Get up. Get on your feet and fight like a man. Pathetic worm. Gutless weakling. Craven child. Worthless wretch._

Father, please…

…_no son of mine…_

I'll do anything you want.

_You will learn…_

Father-

There was no one there. The arena was empty.

"Look on the bright side, Zu-zu."

There's a bright side?

Azula is eleven now. She looks as she did when he last saw her. This is the day he leaves. The day he is made to leave.

Azula settles herself on the edge of the infirmary cot. He has not been back to his room. He is not allowed. Zuko stares out the window. The view faces southeast, toward the waterfront. Behind him, Azula preens like a cat.

"You always said you wanted to see the world."

Zuko feels his shoulders hunch forward and he grits his teeth. He knows rising to her bait will only make things worse, but the only thing keeping his temper in check is the medicine the healers use to dull the pain. It dulls everything else, as well. Even the sky seems dull grey, grey like the metal of the ship waiting for him in the harbor.

"It's your own fault, you know."

He knows.

Azula shifts position and falls out of his field of view. He has no depth perception with the bandage on, and no peripheral vision on the left side. It's a miracle the healers saved his eye. The damage is mostly cosmetic, they say. He feels so much better to hear that.

"…are you listening to me?"

"No."

Azula pouts.

"Whatever. I was trying to cheer you up…"

Fat chance of that.

"…but if you want to sit around and mope be my guest."

He can see her fingers curling in the corner of his vision. She's starting to look like Mom, and she's always been graceful. Mom had slender fingers, too, but she didn't wrap people around them the way Azula does.

Did.

***

Dodging yet another blast of blue fire, Aang wondered why he kept expecting the scarred Firebender to enter the fray. Katara had been right, as usual. It wasn't Zuko tracking them anymore; his sister was quickly proving herself a far more dangerous adversary. At least he wasn't alone in the battle; Sokka and Katara must have taken care of the other two "dangerous ladies" because here they were.

The princess was good, there was no doubt about that, but she was outnumbered three to one and that definitely changed the odds in Aang's favor, at least for the time being.

Then the ground shifted under the princess's feet and Aang smiled despite his weariness. Four to one, now, and the Firebender wasn't smirking any more. Toph looked grim, there was no hint of the shark-toothed smile she had worn in the ring. This was no Earth Rumble, no mere competition for glory or money. It was honest to gods combat.

Then the odds changed again. Aang bit back as exclamation when he recognized the grizzled traveler. The old man looked different; his hair was down and his beard had grown out long. Instead of red armor, he wore faded green and brown, but there was still no hiding the fact that he was Zuko's uncle, Iroh. Where had he come from?

"Azula, stop!"

The girl's eyes flashed.

"I don't think so, Uncle. You're a failure and a traitor. I have no reason to listen to the likes of you!"

Iroh's eyes narrowed. There was no sign of his nephew, but the Avatar stood flanked by the Waterbender, her brother (boomerang in hand) and-

The little blind Earthbender.

Even backed into a corner, Azula knew an opening when she saw one. Her uncle was distracted only a moment, but that was all it took.

Someone screamed as the old man fell, and then all four friends attacked simultaneously. Azula raised a shield of flame, and when everything settled again she was gone.

For a moment no one moved, but Azula had retreated (for now) and Iroh did not stir. He lay on his back in the dust, and Toph pressed her lips together and fought back the tears threatening to spill from her eyes. She could feel his heartbeat thudding through the earth, low and thready.

Katara knelt down by the old man's side as the ghost town burned. Sokka placed his hand on Toph's shoulder. He didn't know why she was so upset about someone she didn't (couldn't) know getting hurt, but that wasn't the point.

"It'll be all right, Toph. Katara can help."

Katara swallowed, hard. Fixing Zuko was one thing- he hadn't been that badly hurt to start with- but this was altogether bigger and scarier and she wasn't sure if the scant time she had spent with Yugoda really prepared her for-

_Just do it already. You can't possibly make things worse_.

Drawing a deep, calming breath, Katara pulled the stopper from her water skin.

***

Something splattered against his bare arm and Zuko looked up. Dark clouds filled the sky, spilling fat droplets onto his upturned face. The rain washed away the dust and he blinked.

The ground turned to sponge under his feet as the storm increased. At first he welcomed the softness, but then he started to sink with every step. Part of the hillside slipped away in the downpour, carrying away the tenacious shrubs clinging to the mountain. Zuko slogged onward, bent forward against the slope of the hill to keep his balance. He kept his head down as the rain pelted against his back and neck.

_Three years, three wishes. I wish I could stop_.

He knew he couldn't stop. If he did, he'd never get up again. He had to keep going. There is no reason; it just had to be done. Zuko had always been at good putting aside his own wants for what had to be done. It didn't matter if he was tired, even if he had never been _this_ tired. He still couldn't quit. It just wasn't in his nature to give in.

The slope leveled under him and Zuko realized he was crawling on his hands and knees in the mud. The storm raged on above him and Zuko shook with exhaustion. A sudden blue flash lit up the sky, and as it printed after-images of a nearly barren plateau on his eyes Zuko realized night had fallen. That was why everything was so dark now.

When the thunder came he thought his head would split in two. He pressed muddy hands against his ears and bowed forward. The wind picked up and lashed the rain sideways.

Zuko struggled to his feet and stood against the wind. Lighting flared again, and this time Zuko saw the edge of the plateau and a stark, twisted tree some ways back from the drop-off. Thunder cracked, and this time Zuko laughed.

"Is that all you've got?!"

Rain pelted his face but Zuko was beyond caring anymore. He bared his teeth to the sky, shrieking defiance back into the face of the storm.

"You've always thrown everything you could at me! Well I can take it! Come on! Strike me! You've never held back before!"

Lighting flashed, high above and away to the east. Zuko sank to his knees, all but unaware that tears streamed from his good eye to mingle with the rainwater hitting his face. He bent forward and screamed.

The storm raged on, unaware.


	13. Chapter 12

Either the powers that be decided to show mercy, or else they simply weren't done playing with him yet. Zuko didn't believe in mercy. Hadn't for years. So while he felt a dull sense of surprise to find himself still alive in the wake of the storm, he wasn't especially optimistic about it.

The rain had washed away the grit in his hair and the dust on his skin. It had also softened the scab on his ankle and fresh blood oozed free and trickled down onto his foot. He leaned his head back against the trunk behind him and stared at the clear blue sky, wincing as the iron shifted and sent sharp stabs of pain up his leg.

Everything was clear, and clean: the rain had left the plateau glistening and Zuko saw every blade of flattened grass in sharp definition. Strange, to be so clear-headed when his body had decided to finally give in. To have the mind awake and the body numb, or to have the mind asleep and the body working automatically, by instinct alone… gazing out over the vista Zuko honestly couldn't decide which was worse.

He closed his eyes against the glare of the morning sunlight. He was too tired to try standing up. Maybe the light would help, give him strength to continue. If not, there was nothing he could do. Funny that he was so calm about that.

***

_Iroh ran up the grassy hill, his son hot on his heels. Lu Ten motioned with his hands and shot a pretend fireball._

"_I got you, Dad!" he laughed._

_Iroh fell and "died", and Lu Ten flopped on his stomach, both of them laughing._

_The sky went dark and it began to rain. Iroh knelt before the grave marker, head bowed. _

"_My beloved Lu Ten, I will see you again."_

"Sir? Sir, are you awake?"

Iroh opened his eyes slowly as the dream faded, and Katara smiled in relief. She leaned back, and Iroh saw he was lying on his back in an earthen "tent". Slabs of rock leaned against each other to form the walls, and the construction possessed a certain crude functionality that immediately marked it as the work of the blind Earthbender.

Katara turned toward the entrance, where Toph stood with her arms crossed over her chest. After a moment she shook her head and wandered away.

"I can't believe you're the Dragon of the West," she muttered, but it was impossible to tell how she felt about that particular revelation.

Katara poured a cup of water for the old man and bit her lip.

"How do you feel?"

Healing the burn hadn't been as difficult as she'd feared; more like what she'd done by instinct on the river's edge after Aang accidentally lost control trying to learn from Jeong Jeong. She managed to treat it so quickly there wasn't even a scar. Still Iroh was not a young man, and it wasn't the flame that had knocked him out cold. It was the force of the _chi_ involved in the attack.

Iroh accepted the cup gratefully. There was a lingering stiffness in his shoulder, but that was all. Interesting that the Waterbender appeared to posses Healing abilities…

"Thank you for putting me back together. How long have you been training as a healer?"

"Not very long."

"Then you must be very gifted, my dear. I feel very well."

Katara smiled at the praise. She had to admit she had been apprehensive about what might happen when the old man woke up. On the one hand, he had tried to save the Moon back at the North Pole. On the other, he was Zuko's uncle. He had tried to stop Azula, but Toph said he was looking for his nephew…

Yet here he was, complimenting her. Was it possible that he was tied to them by fate even as Yue had said Zuko was? Was it possible he was here to help Aang master fire? That hadn't worked too well last time…

"You know, it's funny, but I only found out by accident. My hands got burned and I put them in the water, to make it stop hurting, and it just kind of happened. The water turned bright and when I pulled my hands back out they were perfectly fine."

Iroh wanted to ask more but a shadow fell across the door and he looked up to see the other three members of the group. Toph still looked reserved, like she didn't want to let on just what she was feeling. Aang was smiling, and Sokka looked grumpy and had his arms crossed over his chest.

"What are you doing here?"

"Sokka!" Katara protested. Iroh was on their side, there was no call for such rudeness.

Iroh sighed. He couldn't blame the young man for his anger. His feelings for the Moon-touched princess had been plain, and it was only natural that his pain at her loss should be directed at the man who had suggested her sacrifice. An unavoidable sacrifice, to be sure, but human emotion rarely responded to logic.

Aang's smile dimmed. "Sokka didn't mean that. We just wanted to know why you happened to be in the area. I kinda figured you'd gotten arrested or something. You know, for trying to stop Zhao."

"I was. Fortunately, I have some old friends in useful places, even in the ranks of my brother's military."

Sokka's frown deepened. "Wait, you're the _Firelord's_ brother?"

Toph made a face and kicked him. "I distinctly remember telling you that _just last night_."

"No, you said he was the mighty something or other."

"Dragon of the West," she hissed. Honestly, didn't he know _anything_?

"Well excuse me! I just figured he was related to Zuko's mom or something. Doesn't the Fire Nation pass the crown to the older sibling?"

"Usually," Iroh replied. "The choice of successor lies with the current Firelord."

"So why aren't you the one in control?" Sokka pressed, oblivious to any and all warnings that he probably shouldn't push the issue.

Iroh drew a deep breath and let it out. "That is a story for another time." The dream was still fresh in his mind, sharp and bright and painful, like a bruise left forgotten until it is bumped and starts to throb anew.

Aang pushed forward and seated himself on the floor, legs crossed.

"Toph said you were looking for Zuko. I think you should know that he was captured at the North Pole, and-"

"Handed over to Earth Kingdom custody," Iroh finished, and Aang blinked in surprise. The old man smiled slyly. "I have my sources, young man. I was slightly concerned when I heard _which_ General you had left him with- Fong's reputation precedes him, but I'm sure you didn't know."

"We were going to go back for him, only Omashu was taken and I had to try and find a new Earthbending teacher and then Azula was chasing us. I honestly thought he'd be all right-"

Iroh waved away the explanation. "Oh, I am well aware you would not hurt my nephew. I cannot grudge you the innocence of youth in trusting someone you believed an honorable ally."

"Then why are you all the way out here?"

"I received word that he had escaped."

Katara's eyes went wide. "That's- not possible!"

Sokka pointed a finger at her. "HA! I _told _you he got away!"

She stuck out her tongue. "You thought he was in the train thing, but it was actually Princess Lighting-Fingers. You still lose."

Iroh watched the siblings bicker with a hint of amusement.

"You know, we never did figure out how he made it into the North Pole," Aang mused "and I know he's really good at being sneaky. I guess I'm not surprised he broke out after we left. I'm still not sure how that led you all the way out here, though."

"Please don't take this the wrong way, but I had hoped he was following you."

Aang frowned. "I don't understand."

"I think I do," Toph replied. "It's the only lead you had. If Zuko escaped from the General, but didn't go after Aang again, you had no way to know where he might have gone."

"Precisely. Under other circumstances, nothing would make me happier than knowing he had let go of that particular pursuit, but if he has done so now, I have no way of knowing how, or why he changed his mind. Or even if he did."

"You think he's hurt?" Katara asked.

"He could have been caught by someone else…" Aang suggested.

"We're talking about Zuko here, guys," Sokka interrupted. "We know he can handle himself."

Iroh listened silently as the children voiced their various opinions and theories. Some cut very close to home, but there were others that seemed far off the mark. Of course, he had a distinct bias on the subject. How could he not? Finally he pursed his lips and held up a finger for attention.

"I think perhaps it is time you knew more about my nephew," he replied at last.

High in the mountains a young girl meandered up a twisting dirt path, her clear green eyes absorbing every sight that met her gaze. Her jet-black hair was pulled up into a ponytail, with beaded pins stuck into the base. Willful strands escaped to fall down over her face, and her cheek bore a smudge of dirt. She wore a quilted jacket a tiny bit short at the wrists, as though she were starting to outgrow it but hadn't quite. There was a leather pouch on her belt, soft leather shoes on her feet, and dirt under her fingernails.

Her quick green eyes twinkled merrily, to match the smile on her face as she climbed. Those eyes missed very little, even at such a young age, and this trait had become such a distinguishing feature even her guardian rarely used her given name- everyone simply called her Brighteyes.

Like many children who rely on themselves as their own best friend, she was talking to herself as she went. Not holding a conversation (though she played that game too), but telling herself a kind of story to remember what she was looking for.

"…and Eagle flew up into the sky, and broke off a piece of the vault of heaven, and brought it down to the earth. He planted the piece of Sky, and it grew into a flower, to heal the sick…"

_There you are_.

She knelt down in the path next to the pale blue flower with ragged petals, evidence of Eagle's sharp beak. She wrapped her fingers around the stem and tugged gently. While she loved the blooms, she needed the root intact or the remedy wouldn't work. They had plenty of chicory already, but it didn't work as well when it got old so it had to be restocked. Finding the right plant was also a kind of test, to make sure she had been paying attention to her lessons.

"_Chicory is a valuable remedy. It can be used to treat a number of ailments. Too much, however, can harm the sense of vision and dull the eyes."_

"_Even mine?"_

"_Yes, my love. Even yours."_

Humming under her breath, she gathered a thick bundle of the flowers and then stood up again. She didn't want to take all of it, or it wouldn't re-seed in this location. The stalks danced in the wind and she smiled at the bobbing blossoms.

_I wonder what else is blooming?_

Her errand finished, she wandered further up the path to satisfy curiosity, adding wildflowers to the bunch in her hand as she went.

***

For the second time since the Avatar had returned to the world, Iroh felt himself the center of attention as he related the events of Zuko's banishment. It wasn't exactly the same- he had to include more about the Fire Nation and its customs, and explain background that Zuko's crew had known as a given. The Avatar and his friends listened with rapt attention. By the time he finished Katara was on the verge of tears, Aang's face had frozen in a mask of horror, and even Sokka looked stricken. Toph swallowed hard.

"That's _horrible_," Aang breathed.

"It's all right, my dear," Iroh soothed, holding Katara's hand as fat tears leaked from her eyes.

"No, it's not. I'm so stupid. I tried everything to change his mind. I tried being _nice_, I tried being _tough_… I asked every question I could think of. Everything but that…"

"It's not your fault," Aang insisted. "I'm the one who should have asked, not you. I didn't even try to figure out _why_ he was being punished, because I thought it wouldn't make a difference. As long as I was his one chance of getting back into his father's favor, why did it matter how he got in trouble?"

"Well," Iroh said, "You are both right and also wrong. It is true that my nephew is very stubborn. He has to accept things on his own terms, there is no forcing his opinion, and despite everything Zuko still loves and respects his father very much. That is why you are wrong to think his mission was a punishment."

"Then what is it?"

"Penance."

Sokka screwed up his face in confusion. "Those triangular flag thingies?"

Toph sputtered, and the mood of the room instantly lightened by several degrees. Katara placed both hands over her face.

"No, no. Not _pennants_, young man. _Penance_. Atonement."

"I'm not sure I understand the difference," Aang admitted.

"It has to do with intentions."

Aang's face cleared somewhat. "You mean, it's something _Zuko_ was doing as an apology, rather than something done _to_ him as a penalty."

Iroh nodded briefly.

"But Zuko didn't do anything wrong!" Katara protested. Only after the words left her mouth did she realize how strange it was to utter them.

"According to the laws and traditions of our culture, he did. His actions were not within the jurisdiction of his position, and he tried to back out of the Agni Kai after accepting the challenge."

" So, a general outranks the crown prince? That doesn't make sense." Sokka was playing the leader role again, and he was determined to get as much useful information as possible.

"The rules which govern our land are very complex."

Sokka frowned. He couldn't tell if the old man was deliberately sidestepping the question or trying to explain that he couldn't explain.

As if reading his mind, Iroh smiled gently. "I know you must have many questions, and I promise I will try to answer them. I must confess, though, that I feel a bit- tired. Perhaps we could continue at another time?"

"You said you felt fine…" Katara started.

"You are a wonderful healer, but I am an old man. You cannot reverse time, my dear." He patted her arm soothingly.

"Well. I guess that's my cue."

Toph brushed her hands down her front and a wave of dust shed from her clothes.

"You coming?"

When Aang didn't get the hint immediately she struck her heel against the ground and he bounced, just a little.

"Earthbending starts today, Twinketoes. Let's go."

"Oh, uh, right."

Aang followed her out of the rock tent, rubbing his tailbone.

Katara hid a smile behind her hand as they left.

"Just try not to break him in half, okay?"

Aang poked his head back inside, grinning widely. "No worries, Katara. This is gonna be fun. Today's the day! I'm gonna learn Earthbending!"

Katara busied herself cleaning the tent, stifling a giggle at Aang's enthusiasm as his voice drifted back from the quarry Toph had chosen as her training grounds.

"So what move are you going to teach me first? Rockalanche?The trembler? Oh! Maybe I can learn to make a whirlpool out of land!"

"Let's start with "move a rock"."

***

Brighteyes was barely winded when she reached the lookout. It was one of her favorite spots, where she could see the whole of the valley sweeping away. It was a bit early in the year still, but she knew in another couple of weeks the entire plateau would be covered in brightly colored flowers and climbing vines that turned the dead tree near the edge into a vibrant sculpture in shades of brilliant green. Today, though, she wasn't expecting to find anything more than a nice view through air washed clean by rain.

So it was something of a shock to see the white figure resting against the tree.

At first, Brighteyes wasn't sure he was even human. His skin was so pale, his body so thin he seemed to have no substance at all. Even his ragged clothes were colorless. Within the darkened hollows of his eyes, she glimpsed bright flame, and wondered if he was one of the _guishen_, the ghosts-and-spirits. Then her eyes caught sight of the iron around his leg, and the bloody mess it had made of his ankle.

_Spirits don't bleed._

Zuko could feel her watching him, taking in his entire appearance from his golden eyes down to the chain on his ankle and everything in between. Vaguely he wondered why she wasn't scared.

Then his brain caught up and he realized that this innocent little girl spelled very big trouble. If she was here, alone, than he must be closer to human habitation than he'd thought. She might not think he was a threat, but the adults of her village would.

He had to run.

He couldn't stand.

Brighteyes watched him struggle to find his feet and rushed forward, dropping her bouquet of wildflowers.

"Oh, no. Don't do that."

She grabbed his shoulders to steady him as he collapsed, and he risked a glance at her face. The girl's eyes were like liquid emeralds, her entire face was open and completely without guile, and she bit her lip with worry.

"It'll be okay. Just stay here and I'll be back with help, all right?"

It took him a moment to realize she was waiting for a response. He swallowed, tongue glued to his mouth, and nodded. He might as well act like it was a choice, even when he knew it wasn't.

She stepped back. Forgetting her earlier assignment, she flew back down the path, squishing the flowers flat into the mud in her haste. It wasn't long before she returned, with company.

"Help" turned out to be a sturdy and exceptionally trained ostrich-horse. She led the beast close to the tree and made a clicking sound with her tongue, and it obediently lowered itself to the ground. Bracing himself against the tree on one side, and the girl's shoulder on the other, Zuko somehow managed to fall into the saddle.

She clicked at the ostrich-horse again, and it lumbered to its feet. Zuko nearly fell off. He leaned forward and wrapped his arms around the creature's neck. Brighteyes grabbed the reins in one hand, and with the other on his back to help him keep his balance, she led mount and rider down the hill.

***

Despite claiming to be a tired old man with no strength to tell long stories, Katara learned a number of things from Iroh that day, especially after a battle of wills concerning Toph's teaching methods. Katara was no pushover, but when it came to a confrontation of water and rock, well, water was the more likely to move out of the way, at least initially. Katara preferred to think of it as "adapting to the situation". Given enough time and the proper circumstances, water would reduce rock to tiny grains of sand.

So there.

Out in the quarry, she could hear Toph's strident voice rising on the wind. Waterbending practice had helped to put Aang in a better mood, and Katara was sure he'd figure out what was "blocking" him from learning Earthbending.

She turned her attention back to Iroh's story.

"Wait, what? He said he got thrown out of a window…"

"He did. The window in the helm room of his ship. Apparently, the pirates weren't as stealthy as they might have been. Zuko heard them and went to investigate. If he had stayed in his own room, surrounded by metal walls and nearer to the blast point, he would have been killed. As it was, the explosion carried him far enough away from the debris not to get crushed by it when he fell into the harbor."

Iroh closed his eyes against the memory. He had come so close to losing Zuko that night, but the gut-sinking horror he had felt seeing the explosion had faded with the realization that his nephew had survived. Now, though, it served to remind him that he was far from that nephew's side and utterly unable to help him. He had no way of knowing if Zuko was even still alive.

_Do not go down that path. _

Iroh opened his eyes and hid his worry behind a steaming cup of tea. Toph had found his supplies and brought them along, and Iroh had a nagging suspicion that before the day was done the Avatar and all his friends might need a cup to calm their nerves.

"You know, for some reason I had this totally different image in my head."

"A tavern brawl, perhaps?"

Katara laughed. "Not really his style, is it?'

Iroh allowed himself a wistful smile and nodded toward the quarry. "I noticed your friend seems to be having some difficulty mastering his opposite element."

"He's going against his nature. Aang doesn't like confrontation. Or conflict."

"That may cause problems," he mused. Then his face took on a different expression. "Shouldn't your brother be back by now? It is almost sundown."

Startled, Katara glanced up. The light had turned to golden on the rocks outside and she hadn't even noticed.

"You're right. Excuse me."

She found Aang sitting cross-legged on a rock. He snapped when she interrupted him (to be fair, by now she should probably be able to recognize his meditation pose) but the moment he understood the situation he shrugged away the irritation. Briefly she wondered where his staff had gone, and why Toph wasn't trying to bully him into breaking rocks with his head.

They split up, and Katara checked that the stopper on her water-skin slid free easily. Appa wasn't leaving a trail of fur anymore, and they had been very careful choosing their campsite, but there was one thing she had learned in the past months and that was that trouble sought out her little family at the most inopportune moments.

***

Zuko felt the beast speed up slightly as they neared its home and raised his head. The village was larger than he expected, so far in the mountains. The houses were built of thick wood timbers, clustered together around a central courtyard. They had sliding panel doors and terra cotta tiles on the roofs. Many of the buildings were set at a slight angle above ground, because of the mountain's slope, and boasted little porches in the front.

The girl led the ostrich-horse toward one of the larger houses, and as they neared he slid from the creature's back and fell near the weathered wooden steps.

Their arrival had not gone unnoticed. As Brighteyes darted past into the house, people began to come see what the fuss was about. They clustered together, murmuring. A broad shouldered man in a burned leather apron reached out his hand and Zuko scuttled away. He backed into the steps and collapsed, gasping.

The warped planks shifted under his back and he heard the girl babbling breathlessly. There was someone with her, he could feel the deck moving under them and he tried to go the other way but there were people there, he was surrounded and everything felt so heavy…

"…hurt really bad, Hoshi-"

"We'll see. Don't just stand there, child."

The steps squeaked as the little girl dashed back into the house, and Zuko gathered enough strength to look up.

A short, solid woman stood at the bottom of the stairs. She had a blunt square jaw under a blunt square nose and blunt square hands resting on her hips. He wasn't very good at guessing ages, but she seemed a little older than Uncle. At any rate, her hair was grey, with a streak of pure white, and pulled back in a braid long enough to wrap around her head and still hang down over her shoulder. Her face was weathered and wrinkled, like the bark of a tree.

Her sleeves were rolled up past the elbow, revealing tanned and heavily muscled forearms. She held her face without expression, and her eyes were so dark they seemed completely black, as though she had no iris. They cut straight through him, underneath his skin and into his very soul. He felt naked and vulnerable under that gaze.

"You're a mess."

Lady, you have no idea, he thought, but found he couldn't summon the strength to do more than nod dumbly.

She knelt down in the dirt beside him and slid one hand behind his back, easing him up from the steps. Her hands were warm, and surprisingly soft. He relaxed into the support and let his head fall against her shoulder.

"That's it. Easy now."

"You're- healer," he breathed, and felt her hand tighten on his arm.

"Yes."

The little girl returned, splashing water from a clay pitcher as she nearly tumbled down the steps. The healer tipped it against his mouth, giving him one swallow at a time so he wouldn't choke.

"Easy, child."

His mouth didn't feel as dry, now, but he felt dizzy. Muddled. The packed earth under him swayed, just enough to make him feel off balance. He grabbed the old woman's arm, skeletal fingers desperately tight.

"Please," he gasped, but couldn't remember the words that were supposed to follow. He was falling. The faces gathered above him melted into a blur of greens and browns and faded into white. The healer was murmuring something in his ear, soothing words, but he could barely hear it over the ringing of blood inside his own veins.

Then it passed. He swayed in the healer's arms and she caught him. She wouldn't let him fall.

"It's all right, now. It's all right. I've got you."

He closed his eyes, feeling the words sink into him like rain absorbed by parched desert soil. "It's all right." He felt her arms tighten around him, pulling him against her chest, one hand against the back of his head. He slumped over her shoulder, twisting his fingers in the fabric of her sleeves.

"You're safe now, child. You're safe."

Safe.

He tried to remember the last time he had felt truly safe, and found he couldn't remember. Years ago, before the Agni Kai. Before his father became Firelord, even. Before his mother-

He could feel his chest constricting, but he no longer remembered how to cry. He was shaking, and it hurt to breathe, but the pressure just kept building without release.

Hoshi held him until he stilled, and his breath became slow and calm. The boy, and he was a boy still in her eyes, had been pushed beyond what any man should have to endure. Whatever power had kept him going, past injury, exhaustion and starvation, had dissolved away completely. He had surrendered, let down his guard and that desperate need told her more than she wanted to know about the nature of his injuries.

Hoshi was not a large woman, but she was strong, and in a lifetime spent as a healer she had had to move many a man larger than herself. This boy, however, weighed only as much as a stack of firewood. She lifted him with little trouble, carried him inside, and lowered him onto a nearby cot. He sighed, but did not wake.

The crowd was still gathered outside when she popped her head out the door.

"Go home," she ordered, and her voice brooked no argument. She motioned to the aproned man. "Jiro, grab your tools."

The blacksmith returned shortly with a heavy leather bag. He dropped it on a table near the cot, peered at the shackle, and then rummaged inside before pulling out a length of wire secured on either end to short wooden handles. He looped it around the upper end of the hinge-pin and shook his head at the chisel marks on the iron.

"Shoulda tried a file, kid."

Jiro pulled the wire from side to side until the pinhead fell off. He tapped the pin out of the hinge with a thin metal rod and then wrenched the shackle open. The scab on the boy's ankle split and began to ooze blood, and he flinched but he did not wake as Jiro pulled his leg clear of the confining iron.

"All yours," he said. It took seconds to replace the tools in his bag and then he was gone, holding the bloody manacle in one hand as though he wasn't quite sure what to do with it.

"Well," Hoshi murmured philosophically, "let's see the damage."

While Brighteyes filled the kettle with water and set it to boiling, Hoshi carefully peeled away the shreds of her patient's clothing, the worn silk all but disintegrating in her hands. He shivered, and Hoshi called for her young assistant to put more wood on the fire. Wrapping his upper body in blankets, she pulled his left leg free to examine the ankle. She would have to treat that, first.

The flesh was rubbed raw, bruised, and showed signs of infection, but not the unmistakable rot of gangrene. She breathed a silent sigh of relief. The boy was hovering on the edge as it was- the shock of amputation might push him past Hoshi's abilities to heal. Grabbing basin and cloth, she began to clean the wound, humming softly all the while.

***

Under other circumstances Katara would have laughed hysterically at the state of Sokka's hair, but considering the expression on his face and how worried she had been she simply hugged him tight.

In contrast to her brother, Aang was positively bubbling.

"Hey Katara, look what I can do!"

He took a rooted stance, feet wide, and neatly sheared a boulder in half.

"You did it! I knew you would!" She glanced at Toph and leaned in close to the other girl's ear. "You tried the positive reinforcement, didn't you?" she whispered.

"Yep." The little Earthbender grinned. "It worked wonders."

Katara allowed herself a slight smile and rested her hand on Toph's shoulder. The girls understood each other perfectly, now. Things were going to be _just_ fine.

***

It took several hours before Hoshi was satisfied that there was nothing else to be done for the day. It had been some time since she had treated a patient for anything this serious. One of the local boys had broken a leg some months back, and of course there was always call for cough syrups in the fall and the occasional baby to deliver, but those were natural consequences of life.

What had happened to this boy was not.

She sank into a stout wooden chair by the fire and silently accepted a cup of tea from her ward. Brighteyes was uncommonly quiet, as if she could sense Hoshi's unease even through the calm demeanor she always wore when she was working.

It had been a long time since Hoshi had seen the effects of malicious will upon the human body, but the signs, once recognized, were impossible to ignore. The boy lay still, but not relaxed. His eyes flicked back and forth under the lids and his fingers clenched the covers. When he woke (a clinical voice insisted she amend the thought to "_if_ he woke") her work would really start. For tonight, though, she was done. At least with him.

Sighing, she gathered the shreds of his clothing. Properly laundered she might find a use for the scraps, and mountain folk knew better than throw away something that might still be useful. A bit of paper fluttered from the folds and landed on her foot. Brows furrowed, Hoshi picked it up and unfolded it.

The paper crinkled under her hands and for a moment Hoshi thought her vision was playing tricks on her. Then her eyebrows went up and her eyes went wide. She glanced from the poster to her patient and back.

_Merciful Goddess. _

Calmly smoothing the paper against her chest, Hoshi grabbed her coat and slipped it on. Brighteyes might only be eight, but at that age she was far more responsible than a good portion of the village. Hoshi knew she could trust the girl to watch their patient for the short time she would be gone. She knew, also, that the prying eyes she had shushed away from her door would have found somewhere else to gossip and speculate.

Inside the village meetinghouse, Elder Haku wished desperately that he could ignore the demands of his position to act like a dignified, restrained adult and simply stick his fingers in his ears to shut out the din.

The more vocal residents had been plucking at his sleeves and demanding his attention for the better part of the day, and he was growing tired of it. The worst part was the repetition- no one knew any more than anyone else, but they all demanded answers anyway.

"How did he find us, that's what I want to know."

"Did you see his eyes?"

"…and that hideous scar…"

"Half dead already…"

"That chain looked like iron, not steel. Domestic manufacture for sure."

"Like you would know."

"Do you think he's a criminal?"

"More likely a prisoner of war."

"He's a bit young to be a soldier, don't you think?"

"Hard to tell, in that condition…"

Haku turned away, and so it was that he saw Hoshi first. The room fell dead silent as she entered, and then the questions started all over again, more insistent than ever.

Hoshi ignored them, pushing her way through to stand before Haku's table, her usually unreadable eyes hard and glittering. The crowd parted around her. Haku might be the titular head of the village, but Hoshi served a role nearly identical to the wise women of old. She was the one who knew everyone's secrets.

Elder and healer met eyes and both waited for silence. They had played this game before. Their respective positions often set them at odds (more than it set them as allies) and while Haku would much rather have the cousin he respected and trusted as his adversary than someone genuinely opposed to him it wearied him as much as it frustrated her.

"We seem to have a situation," he remarked as soon as he could be heard.

"We seem to have an epidemic of voyeurism," she shot back.

Haku sighed. At this rate they'd be here all night.

"Just lay it out for me, Hoshi. Who he is, what he's doing here." _Is he a threat?_

"He is my patient. More than that is no one's business."

Damn her stubbornness. It was a family trait.

The crowd grumbled. "You know more than that!" someone shouted. "We have a right to know what your darling apprentice dragged home with her."

"We know he's Fire Nation."

"He's dangerous!"

Haku pressed his lips together and laced his fingers in front of him, index fingers extended and touching.

"Hoshi, I understand that you are bound to protect him. With your background and training you could hardly do otherwise. But this boy's presence is a cause of concern for this entire community. Just tell me what you've learned."

"Would you like a detailed list of his injuries, Haku? Or should I draw you a picture?"

A harsh voice called out from the back of the room, "Oh, come off it woman. Your _expertise_ has no bearing in this." Implied but not spoken was the thought that the boy deserved the injuries that had laid him low, an opinion evidently shared by the majority of townsfolk.

"My expertise has _every_ bearing in this."

Jiro's rough voice (evidence of long hours spent breathing the smoke of his forge) broke the silence before anyone else could challenge Hoshi's authority.

"I ain't an expert on anything but hitting one piece of metal with another" he announced, "but I know two things you might do well to keep in mind. That boy was _hurting_, and _scared_."

Hoshi set her face in a grim smile.

"Indeed." Her voice hardened to steel. "I wonder that you are all so _knowing_ in your judgment. Who among you has been affected by this war enough to have personal reason to hate this boy? Who among you has even set foot further than the Xi Men pass or Lan Hu village?"

The answer, of course, was no one.

No one but Hoshi and the little girl who served as the healer's shadow. In their protected valley, the war was a spectral presence, not a visceral reality. The villager's fear had everything to do with the dread that threat might finally overtake their hidden sanctuary and very little to do with the yellow-eyed skeleton currently sleeping in her clinic.

When there was no fool brave enough to counter Hoshi's challenge (or accusation, depending on how you looked at it) she turned her attention back to the man sitting opposite her. She had made her point, and no one dared forget it.

Haku stood, came round the table and laid a wrinkled hand on her arm.

"Cousin," he started, his voice soft and low. "I cannot begin to imagine the horrific memories this- situation- has exposed, but I need to know what I'm dealing with. I need you to be open with me."

Hoshi met his eyes but didn't answer immediately. When she did, her voice was equally low but still clear and audible to everyone present.

"Either that boy possess a will to survive that rivals the strongest badgermole, or Fate herself has taken an interest in his welfare. Possibly both. There are layers of scars-" She shook her head. "I have known men to die from less. Hardened, experienced veterans, Haku."

She took a breath and reached inside her coat, drawing out the sheet of paper and smoothing it flat with her fingers. She handed it to him with an odd expression on her face, as if instead of giving him what he had asked for she was burdening him with a terrible secret, infecting him with the knowledge she possessed.

"Now you know as much as I do."

Haku took the paper in his hands and stared at it. He looked up and opened his mouth, then shut it again and stared some more.

He had only caught a brief glimpse of the boy when Brighteyes led him in, but despite his age Haku's eyes were skill keen. If it weren't for the scar, he would never have guessed it was the same person. If it weren't for the scar…

He read the poster through, then read it again, but his mind still couldn't make sense of the evidence before his eyes. It didn't _make_ sense. As hard as he tried to understand, he couldn't. The boy was Fire Nation. The iron shackle on his leg was Earth Kingdom work. He could follow that much. But the poster, and the reward, were Fire Nation.

Not reward- _bounty_.

He swallowed, but it did not dispel the sickness in his gut. He didn't want to understand, but he did. He did. Very slowly, he let his hand fall and placed the poster on the table beside him. He felt the nearest villagers tense as they saw it, heard them gasp.

Haku met Hoshi's eyes and she gave a sad kind of smile, as if to say, _You had to ask_.

"Hoshi-"

"I recognize both names on that poster. The old man was once the Crown Prince. The boy is Firelord Ozai's _son_. If my calculations are correct, he is sixteen years old. _Sixteen_, Haku. Hated and hunted by both powers before he is even a man."

"There must be some kind of explanation…"

"Explanation, yes. Justification? I don't think so."

Haku closed his eyes and held a hand to his forehead, gesturing toward the poster with the other.

"There are more questions here than answers. What do you expect me to do?"

"Wait. Wait and see. It's all we _can_ do."

Haku nodded wearily. Around them, a low muttering spread from person to person as those assembled tried to make sense of the situation and failed.

"Just tell me when he's strong enough to talk."

Hoshi's eyes narrowed.

"I said _talk_, woman. It's the only way we'll ever get to the bottom of this."

"_I_ decide when he's strong enough to have- visitors."

Haku nodded. She held up a finger and jabbed it into his chest.

"_And_ I decide how far you push him. You will not speak with the boy unless I am present, understood?"

"I wouldn't dream of it."

Brighteyes didn't let it show, but she breathed a sigh of relief when Hoshi came back. Obviously something had been decided, but it was an adult thing. Sometimes Brighteyes hated being relegated to the role of "child" and therefore not privy to grown-up concerns, but judging by Hoshi's expression (which was almost as troubled as when she left) she was probably happier not knowing.

"Any change?"

The little girl shook her head.

"Some of the boys came by. I told them to go away."

Hoshi gave her a sharp look. She had forgotten about that particular concern. Brighteyes seemed to have handled the situation, though. It was hard to argue with a child as certain in herself as Brighteyes.

"Why is everyone so angry, Hoshi? You said healers help people who need them, no matter what. He needed us. Why is that so wrong?"

Hoshi gathered the little girl on her lap. She was getting too big for that sort of thing, physically but not emotionally. Right now Hoshi didn't care. She hugged the bright child who had become the center of her world.

"They're scared, my precious. They don't know what he is."

"He doesn't look like us."

"Part of that is the sickness."

Brighteyes nodded. "I thought he was a spirit," she murmured, and Hoshi hugged her tighter. She had to admit, there was something unworldly about the boy.

"They think he's a _gui_, don't they?"

The _gui_ were the spirits still bound to the world by the circumstances of their death- angry, violent phantoms thirsting for revenge and blind to anything but their own pain. Hoshi had to admit that from what little she had seen in the boy's eyes before he lost consciousness it might not be too far off. The difference was, of course, that _gui_ could not recognize help when it was offered, and the boy had. He wasn't a lost cause yet.

"They're wrong, dearheart. He isn't _gui_."

"I didn't think so." Brighteyes' voice wavered, and her eyes drooped. It had been a very long day. "I guess that makes him _shen_, doesn't it?" she muttered sleepily.

Hoshi smiled slightly. There was an undeniable truth to that drowsy logic.

"Come on, sleepy head. Better get ready for bed before you fall asleep on me."

Brighteyes uncurled, looking over her shoulder as the boy she had saved twitched in his sleep.

"You'll stay with him, right?"

"Of course."

"He _will_ be okay?"

At this point, it was up to the boy, but Hoshi smiled reassuringly. Negative energy certainly wouldn't help his chances.

The boy clenched his hand into a fist, his face pulled sideways in pain. Brighteyes reached out and gently straightened his fingers. His face relaxed a fraction and he swallowed.

"No more bad dreams," the girl commanded, and he sighed. She smiled and stepped back. "Goodnight, Shen."

***

Ever since the North Pole, every time Iroh gazed at the moon he couldn't help wondering is she was gazing back. The Princess had been so brave, so selfless. He wondered if she blamed him, as the boy seemed to.

True, Sokka had warmed a bit after Iroh revealed the contents of his travel pack. His supplies wouldn't last long, but after the boy's unsuccessful (and apparently life-threatening) attempt to find meat it was enough simply to have a decent dinner. He doubted Sokka would agree, but there was a certain willfulness to the youth which Iroh found reassuringly similar to his nephew.

Bathed in the moon's soft glow, Iroh turned Zuko's blade in his hand. The Avatar had been slightly sheepish when he revealed it.

"I think he'd probably be happier if you had it than me," was all he'd say in explanation.

The knife glowed almost as brightly as the moon itself. No, _her_self.

Iroh sheathed it and closed his eyes. Even then, he could see the residual glow of blue. There was only one explanation for it: Zuko had been touched by the spirit world. It would seem the group of friends clustered behind him and gently sleeping either had no knowledge of this fact (which was unlikely, considering one of them was the living bridge between worlds) or else they had their reasons for keeping quiet on the subject.

Iroh didn't mind. He wasn't actively deceiving the foursome, but he had lived too long not to keep a few secrets to himself. There were some things he simply couldn't reveal. Not to them, or to his nephew.

Iroh grimaced and tucked the dagger away. There were so many of those secrets he had intended to share with Zuko when the time was right. Now he wasn't sure if he would ever get that chance.

A shadow passed across the moon and when it had gone Iroh thought the moonlight was even brighter than before. The silver gleam fell across his face and Iroh pulled the knife out again.

He had sent it to Zuko because the inscription had seemed made for the boy, so easily discouraged that he needed a constant reminder to rely on. In contrast, Azula's gift had been almost an afterthought.

She had been so young when he left for the front that he hadn't really known anything about his niece beyond the fact that she displayed uncanny talent everywhere Zuko struggled. Surely such a gifted child didn't need any special encouragement. Perhaps he shouldn't have relied on the advice of his second-in-command to find a gift for the precocious girl.

Iroh hitched his shoulder. It couldn't be a coincidence that young Katara's Healing took on the same blue glow that marked Zuko's knife. Years ago, when Iroh had first learned to recognize the hints of spirit-vision he wondered why it appeared to him that color. Surely if it were revealed by the will of Agni his spirit-vision should be brilliant gold, bright as sunlight and just as dazzling.

Iroh turned his face back up to the moon, once a spirit known only as La, now manifest in a girl who had once born the name Yue. He held the knife and shook it slowly.

"This is your hand, isn't it? You push and pull, and all must respond to that influence."

The moon did not respond, but then he didn't expect her to. Stowing the knife once more, Iroh retreated to the earth-tent and his bed. He had the answer he needed. As long as the knife glowed blue, he knew the moon had her eye on his nephew.

And for now, at least, that was enough.


	14. Chapter 13

Zuko spent much of the next two days unconscious, with Brighteyes perched on a chair beside the bed. She took her duties very seriously, offering water or broth whenever he seemed awake enough to swallow without choking. Mostly she watched, occasionally reaching out to touch his shoulder when his sleep became restless, or to check his forehead for signs of fever.

Hoshi took care of everything else.

The third morning his brow stayed cool. Hoshi smiled slightly and squeezed Brighteyes' shoulder.

"I won't be long."

"He's going to wake up today. Really wake up."

Hoshi nodded. "If I'm not back before he does-"

"I'll take care of him."

The door slid easily in its tracks, and Brighteyes turned back to her self-appointed vigil.

After a while her head drooped and she leaned to one side. She was only eight, after all, and it was very tiring to watch someone else sleep. Snuggling into the chair, she brought up her knees and rested her head. She would notice if anything changed.

The edges of the world were fuzzy. And warm. Zuko opened his eyes, blinking to chase away the last shreds of dream. He ran his hand over the covers, feeling the roughened skin on his fingers catch against the smooth fabric. There was a mattress under his back, firm but yielding. The ceiling above him boasted a thick exposed beam as the ridgeline.

He remembered the tree, and the girl with the ostrich-horse, and falling on the steps. He remembered the healer with the piercing eyes, before the world dissolved.

_She said I was safe._

_Safe? You're in an Earth Kingdom village, moron. What do you think they'll do to you?_

His breath caught, just a little, and Brighteyes looked up.

_It doesn't matter. I can't run anymore. Let them judge me. I don't care. _

Zuko swallowed. He wasn't a very convincing liar at the best of times. Sometimes he could manage to fool himself, but that was about it. Right now he couldn't even do that. Whatever he had stumbled into now, there was no way out.

Something moved in the corner of his vision. He reacted without thought, one hand snapping out to avert the perceived threat.

Brighteyes gasped as he grabbed her wrist. It didn't hurt- in fact, there was barely any strength behind the grip- but it caught her off guard. He moved so fast, even flat on his back.

Zuko stared into the girl's eyes. There was nothing hidden in them; she was as transparent as the healing-woman was opaque. After a startled moment her wide green eyes relaxed, and a smile broke over her face.

"You _are_ awake!"

She was unbelievably cheerful, and far more impressed by the development than he was. To be sure, his head was clear, the room didn't feel like it was moving under him and instead of searing agony there was only a dull ache in his ankle. His leg felt oddly heavy, though. Come to think of it, everything felt oddly heavy. He barely noticed the girl's hand slipping from his grasp.

"You don't need to pee, do you?" He shook his head briefly and she smiled again, this time with relief. "Oh, good. I'm not big enough to help you get to the bathroom, and I think you'd probably fall over or something. Do you want me to get Hoshi?"

"Uhn?"

But the girl was already rushing on. "She'll be back in just a minute anyway. She left you some tea. It tastes really bad but it's good for you. I should know. I helped her make it and she gives it to me all the time when I get hurt. You'd better drink it all at once to get it over with, that's what I do, and then you can rinse the taste away with water. Hoshi says you're on liquids only, at least until you get stronger. I wanted to make you soup but Hoshi said not unless she's here, so I guess I have to wait until she gets back. Tea?"

Zuko stared at her. The little girl grabbed the teacup and held it out to make her intentions clear in case he didn't understand and he shook his head. She shrugged and put it back on the table.

"Oh, well. You have to drink it eventually. It tastes even worse when it's cold, but I guess we could make you a new cup. Oh! I could put it on the stove to keep it warm."

Brighteyes jumped out of her seat, grabbed for the cup and knocked it on the floor. The clay cracked against the wood panels and her eyes went wide.

"Drat!" she said clearly, and somehow Zuko knew this was the harshest word she could use to express her frustration. He also knew that it wasn't the first time she had broken something and wondered briefly what disaster might have befallen the house if she _were_ allowed to cook unsupervised.

Azula had left a path of destruction in her wake at that age, but not like this.

Brighteyes whisked away the mess with the same careless enthusiasm that had caused the accident to begin with and then settled back on her chair. She didn't sit, exactly, but rather balanced like a bird prepared to take flight at a moment's notice.

"You've been asleep for two whole days, you know," she informed him in a serious tone. "I guess you needed the sleep. You can tell me if you need something. Hoshi says you probably aren't used to people helping you anymore, but they used to, right?"

Zuko flicked his eyes away for a moment. The little girl didn't seem to stop for breath and alternated between questions and freely offered information without any kind of pattern or forethought. It made him dizzy, trying to keep up. So far he had only been able to determine that "Hoshi" must be the healer and that the green-eyed girl was simultaneously an absolute innocent and a walking disaster. It was an odd combination, but strangely comforting. He often felt like two parts of some mismatched thing instead of a whole person: it was nice to know he wasn't the only freak in the world.

"…You don't mind if I call you Shen, do you? I never use my given name. Nobody does. I'm not sure if they even remember what it is."

"What?"

"My name. Everyone just calls me Brighteyes. That's not what you meant, though, was it?"

Zuko wasn't entirely sure himself at this point.

"It's just a name, anyway."

He regarded her curiously, but she didn't say anything more. Following her gaze, Zuko noticed a table pushed against the wall to his left, holding a fat pillar candle and a battered sheet of paper, creased and dirty. His face fell as he recognized the border that signified an official Fire Nation document.

_DammitalltoHELL_.

For a moment white hot panic surged through his body, but he didn't have enough energy to sustain that kind of reaction and after a moment the wave crested and broke, leaving residual dread in its wake. He closed his eyes. They would have figured it out soon enough. Unbidden, a memory from some months earlier bubbled to the surface of his mind: Zuko, with Uncle beside him, stammering in (then _Commander_) Zhao's face to find a suitable cover story for the damage to his ship.

No, it wouldn't have taken them long to figure it out.

Dammit anyway.

Hoshi stood unnoticed in the doorway. Silently, the old healer slid the door closed behind her and surveyed the room, not at all surprised to find the bedside table empty and a smear of dark liquid on the floor.

She cleared her throat and Brighteyes whirled around.

"Hoshi, Hoshi, Shen's awake! Can I make soup now?"

Hoshi nodded. It was unlikely there would be further mishaps now that the nervous energy building in the girl had been released. Brighteyes launched off the chair, landing easily on her feet (although the chair itself fell over) and disappeared into the back of the house.

Zuko flinched slightly at the clatter of wood against wood, but didn't say anything. Hoshi righted the chair briskly and prepared a new dose, noting but not openly acknowledging the wariness in the boy's eyes.

She knew that look. It was the face of someone betrayed too deeply to risk trusting a fellow member of the human race without ironclad proof of intentions. She had no way to make him set aside that instinctual caution, so she didn't try. There would be time for that later.

Setting the teacup on the table to steep, she rubbed her hands to chase away the lingering morning chill. The only thing less welcome than unasked for physical contact was unasked for physical contact with cold hands.

"Let's give you a view of something besides the ceiling, hmm?"

Zuko didn't have time to react as she reached behind his torso and leaned him forward against her shoulder. She fiddled with something on the side of the bed and then half of it groaned upward, ratcheting along a series of grooves until it reached a gentle incline. As Hoshi settled him again he caught her eyes and didn't let go.

"You know who I am."

"Not that it makes a difference, yes."

"What do you mean, "not that it makes a difference"?" he asked heatedly, leaning forward slightly and then instantly regretting it.

Hoshi placed her hand against his shoulder and gently pressed him back. She had never been particularly gentle with her bedside manner- honesty, she felt, was the greatest kindness in all but very few circumstances- but even that slight tact seemed to have worn away.

"Zuko," she started, and felt him stiffen, "I'm a _healer_. A very highly trained healer from an order with very strict rules concerning how and when to offer my services. Specifically, _whenever_ they are required, _to whoever_ requires them. You are not my first Fire Nation patient. Now, I know you have less than no reason to trust anything I say. I'm going to tell you the truth anyway, and you can believe me or not as you like. All right?"

It was safest to nod so he did.

Hoshi pulled back her hand, smiling slightly. "Good. Drink this."

The tea was every bit as horrible as the girl made it sound, thick and bitter with a cloying aftertaste that lingered in the back of his throat. He didn't want to know what it was. He never wanted to know what went into the various remedies healers used.

"Now that that's out of the way, how do you feel?"

It was typical healer question. They were required to ask it, he supposed. He had a variety of answers. Weak. Helpless. Pathetic.

"Tired," he said.

"I expect so. How on earth did you find us all the way out here?"

"I didn't mean to."

"I'm sure you didn't."

Zuko let his head fall to the side, resting on the curl of paper there. Hoshi followed his gaze.

"May I ask why you kept it?"

Unspoken, but still present, was the admonition that it was a stupid thing to have done, as it guaranteed identification, and therefore danger. Why _had_ he taken it?

"It's…proof."

Hoshi's eyebrows rose. Proof of what?

Zuko looked up into her face and read the question there before she could erase it.

"Uncle," he said simply.

Hoshi nodded. "You were separated."

Zuko made a non-committal noise and looked away again. It hadn't been a question, exactly, so he didn't have to answer. He didn't want to answer questions, right now. He had enough of his own without worrying about anyone else's. Besides, in all likelihood she'd just be repeating Katara, and Zuko still wouldn't be able to satisfy those inquiries any better now than he could before.

"What-" he started, but the question froze in his throat. _What are you going to do to me? _He swallowed and tried again. "What- happens now?"

Hoshi heard both questions (few things escaped her notice and obvious but unasked questions were not one of them) and therefore answered both questions.

"Now, Zuko, I'm going to help you get better."

***

Iroh was discovering the thrill of riding through the sky on a giant fuzzy beast. He had not been in a position to appreciate his first flight, and had been making up for it since. Closing his eyes, he breathed deeply through his nose and then exhaled slowly.

When he opened his eyes the world fell away below him in vast sweeps of green treetops and exposed rock formations. He had seen a great many things in his life, but there was nothing he could compare directly to the sensation. It was partly like standing on a vista and overlooking the world sweeping away beneath his feet, and partly like standing at the prow of a ship as it cut the water, and not at all like either.

It was marvelously relaxing. His frame no longer supported quite as much mass (he wondered idly if Jun would insist on matching his _previous_ weight in gold should he run across her again) and while he had grown accustomed to using his pack as a pillow he couldn't resist reveling in the soft cushion formed at the back of the saddle by the heap of sleeping bags and varied supplies.

Toph lounged next to him. Unknown to her, and unnoticed (as yet) by other members of the party, she had chosen the same "quarter" of the saddle Sokka had used to secure Zuko.

Katara was sitting "backwards" near the curl at the front of the saddle with her knees to one side and Iroh's pack next to her. She was carefully mending his robe with tiny precise stitches, mindful of the bungled sutures in Zuko's back and skeptical that the old man's sewing had improved in the meantime.

Aang was balanced on that front curled edge of the saddle, staring off into the distance and wondering how long he needed to wait before it wouldn't seem rude to ask Iroh if he would teach him Firebending. Being polite was not his only concern; he'd messed up badly with Jeong Jeong and he knew it.

Sokka was "driving", and his thoughts had less to do with specific members of the Fire Nation and more to do with choosing a course that would not land them in hot water when he had only a vague idea where they were.

He was also preoccupied with hiding his last bag of seal jerky from Momo. He had carefully hidden it and forgotten the fact until the inquisitive lemur uncovered it the previous day. Now Momo seemed to think it was his, despite the fact that he could eat just about anything (and frequently did) while the humans had far narrower options for their diet.

"Shoo. Go catch bugs or something, you're good at that."

Momo's ears flattened at Sokka's tone and he crept away. Aang caught him up absently and stroked his head, setting the lemur purring, all thoughts of food momentarily forgotten.

***

Zuko mostly ignored the healer's ministrations. He'd been injured before, after all. He knew the drill. Lie mostly still, move when told, don't scratch at the bandages. That last one might actually be a problem, given that his feet had decided they preferred to let him know they were healing by itching like mad. Especially between the toes.

Hoshi kept her face carefully professional, reserving her opinion until she had finished. The wound on Zuko's left ankle was still raw and obviously painful, but a much healthier color. She carefully bathed the affected area, slathered it with salve, and replaced the bandage.

"How bad is it?"

Hoshi settled the covers before meeting his gaze.

"The infection is receding. Until the surface wound has healed I won't know how the joint itself had been affected."

Zuko swallowed. However disfiguring the scar on his face might be, it didn't change what he was capable of _doing_. When his ankle healed he could always hide the scar, but would he have to hide a limp as well?

Hoshi smiled gently and laid her hand on his shoulder.

"You aren't a cripple yet, boy. Although I would recommend you don't put unnecessary pressure on that leg."

Zuko nodded shortly.

Some time (and lots of soup) later he wondered if perhaps she had been trying to cheer him up with that statement, as his left leg didn't seem capable of supporting even the slightest weight, forcing him to lean heavily on her shoulder.

He noted absently that Hoshi had an awfully nice bathroom for a random healer in the middle of nowhere (actually, now that he thought about it, she had an awfully nice _house_), but his thoughts on the subject were cut short by the flash of a silvered reflection as he hobbled back down the hall- assisted, of course, by the sturdy old woman.

The mirror was placed strategically to improve positive energy (Hoshi knew her Feng Shui) but the old woman kicked herself mentally for forgetting the thing. She closed her eyes briefly as Zuko went rigid.

_Shen_, he thought, the little girl's comment finally coming together. Not the common name, because he certainly wasn't cautious, or particularly deep.

"_You don't mind if I call you Ghost, do you?"_

"I look like a corpse," he murmured.

Hoshi squeezed his hand a little and gently led him past.

"I can fix that, you know."

***

"So, mighty dragon, you sticking with us or what?"

Iroh's bushy eyebrow flew up and he turned to regard his neighbor with surprise.

"You want me to stay?"

So far, Iroh had been relegated to the role of "Katara's patient who is also kind of an important person in his own right and helped us so we can't just abandon him in the middle of nowhere", but this was the first anyone had mentioned more than that.

Toph's forehead furrowed. "You have a reason not too?"

"I thought you might be mad at me," he confessed.

She grinned broadly. "Nah. I just like to keep people on their toes."

Katara stopped mending and looked up.

"Why would Toph be mad at you?"

Toph flicked something off her finger and over the edge of the saddle.

"Because of who he was. Actually, I'm kind of impressed. Ba Sing Se is supposed to be impregnable, you know."

Sokka abandoned his post and scrambled into the saddle.

"What's this about cities being pregnant?"

Katara groaned.

"Your friend meant that the City of Ba Sing Se is known for its defenses. The outer wall has stood for centuries."

"Most of it, anyway," Toph corrected. "Iroh put a big crack in it a couple of years ago, when he was in charge of the Fire Nation's forward military advancement."

Sokka quirked an eyebrow. "Do tell."

Before Iroh could even begin to form an answer Toph saved him again, ticking off points on her fingers.

"Well, let's see. He was the heir apparent and a highly decorated general, it's not really surprising he was picked for the job."

"You seem very well informed, my dear."

Toph shrugged. "Hey, just because I'm blind doesn't mean I'm stupid. People talk, you know? It's not my fault they don't realize I'm listening. Only thing I never understood, though, is why a man with the guts and patience to hold siege for six hundred days straight would pack up just when it started to pay off."

Sokka stared at the old man.

"You spent nearly two years breaking down a wall and after you did you just gave up?"

"No. I spent nearly two years breaking down a wall and then discovered I had maneuvered my forces into a bottleneck charge against an army with a distinct territorial advantage. I lost an unholy percentage of my soldiers… including my son."

No one said anything for a while after that.

Finally, Sokka slumped against the saddle wall and shook his head. "_Man_ that sucks."

Katara blinked away a stray tear. She really was awfully emotional this week, which meant the next week would probably be hell. Sometimes she really hated being a girl.

"I guess we really _don't_ know that much about the Fire Nation. Is that why-" she swallowed, but then pressed on "is that why you were-"

"Passed over in favor of my brother? I cannot say. But it is why I did not contest his claim. I have no desire for that throne." _I have enough blood on my hands already_.

Katara nodded. Then her mouth opened slightly and her eyes brightened.

"You're Zuko's Master, though- right?"

"I assumed responsibility for most of my nephew's training, yes. There were certain…responsibilities…to his position that no one else could teach him."

Sokka glared the old man, suspicions forming in his mind. "Wait. Just wait. You're trying to tell us, that because you had been the crown prince, the Firelord let you teach Zuko how to be the crown prince."

Iroh nodded.

"Only you didn't want him to end up like his father, right?" Aang broke in.

Iroh smiled, a bit sadly.

"My brother wanted the power his position has given him but I do not think he was truly prepared for it. I simply thought it best to give my nephew a-wider perception of the world- since it followed that if my brother succeeded in his ambitions Zuko would inherit a great deal more than just the Fire Nation."

"And then he opened his mouth and blew it." Toph sounded almost impressed by this. Then again, she could relate to that kind of stubbornness.

Iroh winced. "I should have realized the timing was wrong."

"It snowballed," Katara murmured.

"I'm sorry, my dear?

"Oh, nothing. I was just thinking, it wasn't really big, I mean, what Zuko did could have been smoothed over, but it wasn't. One little mistake led to another little mistake and they stuck together. You've never made a snowman, have you?"

The old man laughed. "It doesn't get cold enough in the Fire Nation for that, but I have seen them in my travels."

"Well, if you're careful like me, you build it up gradually. But if you're impatient," her eyes flicked toward her brother, "you make a smallish snowball at the top of a hill and then push. As it rolls down the hill it picks up more snow and gets bigger. It also makes a really ugly, lopsided snowman."

"Hey. That was _Bato's_ idea. And it worked pretty well, except for the lopsided part. Besides, you're a Waterbender and-"

Toph nudged him none too gently with a dirty foot.

"I'm sure you have all sorts of fascinating stories about the lands of snow and ice, but we are _way_ off topic."

Sokka shook his head, face screwed up to one side. "Yeah, sorry, but I'm not seeing this whole "Zuko is the benevolent master of the world" vision. Especially since he got kicked out of favor and all that."

Iroh shrugged. "I have to admit, I was hoping my brother would cool down and change his mind." His forehead wrinkled. "Not that he ever does. I have never known him to regret anything. But- I stayed with Zuko."

"And helped him chase Aang!" Sokka protested.

Iroh pulled a wry face. "Yes, well, I must admit I wasn't expecting your young friend's reemergence to the grand arena."

Privately he wondered if that had been an oversight on his part, or if the spirits had deliberately left him in the dark. They had their own agenda, after all, and it was not always kind, or comprehensible, to mere mortals.

Toph sighed theatrically. "Not that. I meant whether or not Iroh is staying with us."

Sokka blinked. They really were off topic.

"Oh, right."

He turned to Aang expectantly.

Aang swallowed nervously. "Well, actually, I was kind of wondering, if, you know, if youcouldteachmeFirebending."

Iroh had anticipated the question, it had been written all over the boy's face for days. He had considered his answer very carefully.

"It would be my _honor_" he began, and held up a finger as Aang's eyes brightened, "but I am afraid I must decline."

***

Hoshi was not a difficult person to understand, really. She was blunt, solid and unyielding- qualities expected in an Earthbender, perhaps, but slightly less so in a member of the medical profession. Within the space of several hours Zuko ascertained that despite her apparent age her mind possessed the qualities of a steel trap and her every action expressed a kind of efficiency which would put the supreme technical engineers of the War Ministry to shame. Forced to choose a single word to describe her, Zuko would choose "competent", with the added caveat that rather then the word describing _her_, she was describing _it_.

She absolutely terrified him.

To make matters worse, she never gave the slightest indication of anything but complete sincerity (other than being female, it was her only common factor with Brighteyes) and that obviously genuine concern only scared him more.

This wasn't how things were supposed to work.

Not that he _wanted_ to be hated. However laughable it might seem to those familiar with the scarred teen only as an inexorable foe (or a sullen prisoner), at heart he was pathetically eager to please.

For the last five years he had been trying to please his father, and failing miserably for three. Trying to "capture the Avatar" was the ultimate form of groveling, attempted after the more usual form had quite literally blown up in his face. Begging for mercy on his knees had only made things worse- no way was he ever doing _that_ again.

Still, it was almost reassuring to discover than far from an otherworldly paradise of unquestionably welcoming saints, the other villagers seemed rather _put out_ by Hoshi's easy acceptance.

As evidenced by the conversation in the other room.

Hoshi's house was separated by sliding walls, partitioned into a "living area" in the back and "clinic" in the front with a kind of woodstove in the middle. It heated the front half and served as a cooking center for the kitchen in addition to heating the back half. The design was purpose built and obviously not removable- the metal butted flush around the mantle on both sides.

Zuko hadn't commented when Hoshi set him up in the back part of the house. It was medically sound not to move him until she had a better fix on his condition, and now that she knew how he was doing it only made sense to minimize the distance traveled between patient, healer, and food. He was practically sleeping in the kitchen now. Closer to the bathroom, too. Not a bad arrangement.

Especially since the change not only kept him conveniently close to constant refills of broth, but had also removed him from the prying eyes of anyone who happened to open the front door. Such as the villager currently occupying the clinic on the other side of the wall.

Brighteyes didn't have a whole lot of patience with teenage boys in general. They were big and loud and smelly and thought rather highly of themselves despite a distinct lack of anything particularly worth bragging about. Under "ordinary" circumstances she would have felt the same way about Zuko, but considering he had walked all the way up the mountainside practically dead he actually _did_ have something worth bragging about.

The fact that he was Fire Nation and nominally an enemy made little impression on her. The fact that he came from somewhere far away and probably knew all sorts of things she'd never even _heard_ of was irresistibly fascinating. Besides, he didn't dismiss her as "just a little girl".

The boy slouching over the back of her chair was the worst of the lot. His name was Hong, which she knew meant "vast", but while he possessed the frame of a larger man he had yet to grow into it and at present the only thing vast about him was the army of angry red pimples entrenched on his forehead and cheeks and, well, everywhere.

Brighteyes called him Craterface, and he was currently proving himself quite the hypocrite. She had yet to shut him up, and he was getting on her nerves.

"I can't believe you're actually nice to that scarred freak."

"He can't help the way he looks." Then she added sharply, "Unlike you. He got hurt, but _you're_ going to be ugly because you're too stupid to wash your face on a daily basis or quit picking your festering zits with dirty, greasy, fingers. If you did what we said and used the medicine like you're s'possed to they'd clear up, but no, that's just too easy."

The boy drew breath for a retort but she didn't give him time to use it.

"Outta my house, you big turkey-goose," she ordered, pointing imperiously toward the door. He rolled his eyes.

"I said _OUT_!"

And she reached for the broom.

Hong fled, slamming the door behind him.

Brighteyes was still holding the broom defensively when she entered the kitchen, but there was an air of satisfaction about her. _Exasperated_ satisfaction, but still.

Zuko took this in at a glance and blinked.

_What on earth?_

Brighteyes tucked the broom in a corner and blew her hair out of her eyes. It fell back in her face. Hands on her hips, the little girl shook her head and remarked to the world at large, "He is _such_ a poo-head._ Honestly_."

After a moment, Zuko began to laugh. He couldn't help it.

Here he was, all but flat on his back, dosed to the gills, covered in herbal poultices of varying color and scent (some pleasant, some not, but all _strong_), and he was championed by a broom-wielding mountain peasant with the grace of a lame Komodo-rhino who thought "poo-head" was the ultimate insult devised by human language.

"What's so funny?" she demanded, and Zuko fought for control.

"Nothing," he wheezed, scrubbing at his good eye with the heel of his hand.

"You're my hero."

She beamed.

***

"What do you _mean_, you must decline!"

Iroh sighed and folded his hands over his stomach. In some ways, it seemed, the young Airbender and his nephew were very similar.

"I _have_ to learn Firebending. I have to! I tried learning before with Master Jeong Jeong and it went all wrong but that was because I didn't know Waterbending very well or any Earthbending at all. I understand I have to learn the elements in order, and I am! I'm training my arrow off with Katara _and_ Toph- Where am I supposed to find someone to teach me if you won't, huh? All the other Firebenders in the _whole world_ are out to get me!"

"Master Jeong Jeong? He was a very close friend of mine, you know, but I haven't seen him for some time…"

"Don't change the subject!"

Yes, they were very similar indeed. Drawing a deep breath, Iroh regarded the young Airbender evenly. Aang swallowed and subsided.

"I know that you are far too young to carry the weight of the world, Avatar or not. I know that you are trying as hard as you can, and I know before you can attempt to balance the world you must first balance yourself. To accomplish this, you must learn to tame fire. But not yet."

"Why not?"

"You have only just begun Earthbending, for one thing."

"Yeah, but you could stay with us until I'm ready…"

Iroh shook his head.

"He has to find Zuko first," Katara hazarded.

"It _is_ a prior obligation. Also, I am not certain I am meant to be your teacher, as flattering as the offer may be. I understand Toph was not your initial pick for Earthbending Master."

Aang ignored Toph's expression as best he could. "Bumi suggested her though, sort of. It was supposed to be her all along- but I guess that's your point, isn't it… What am I supposed to do if the time comes to learn Firebending and I can't find anyone to teach me?"

Iroh laid his hand on the young Avatar's arm.

"I am certain that when the time comes, you will have a teacher. It may be me, or it may not. However things end up, I am certain our paths will cross again."

"I feel really weird even suggesting this," Sokka broke in, "but maybe we should just stick together for the time being. We don't really have a destination in mind right now anyway. We were trying to find an Earthbending teacher and we did, but then we had to run from the dangerous ladies. There's really no reason we can't combine evasive maneuvers with Uncle Teapot's search for Prince Ponytail. No offense."

Iroh raised and eyebrow. _Uncle Teapot_ was actually a rather fitting description…

"Sokka." Katara's eyebrow twitched and the corners of her mouth were tight. "We've gone over this already. Zuko doesn't have a ponytail anymore, Chief Arnook cut it off."

"Oh yeah."

Iroh raised his eyebrows. That was a detail he hadn't heard before.

"You two had better not start fighting again," Toph broke in. "You didn't explain last time it came up, and something tells me you really ought to spill."

She pointed one grubby finger in Iroh's general direction and Sokka turned pink.

"Right. Um. Well. I guess we should start at the beginning."

"Please do."

***

Hoshi hummed to herself as she worked. Brighteyes had finally slept in her own bed again, instead of slumped in a chair. Zuko still looked terrible, but despite her misgivings that he would be able to handle solid food the soup was staying down and the boy's appetite was healthy. It was the only thing healthy about him, but progress was progress and his chances for complete recovery had improved markedly in only four days.

It really was remarkable what the human body could endure. It was such a fragile form, so easily broken or torn, but amazingly resilient at the same time.

"Your neighbors don't seem too happy about me being here."

Every time the boy spoke she expected his voice to sound different. Less…raw. She thought at first it was a symptom, indicative of sickness or thirst or disuse, but she'd given him enough tea, medicinal and otherwise, with enough honey to make the spoon stand up, to disprove that theory. Hoshi was rather found of honey. It had a number of medical uses, but unlike many of her other remedies it was actually pleasant.

It was a pain to harvest, though.

"My neighbors have learned to leave me alone if they know what's best for them."

His remaining eyebrow rose. The scar made reading some of his expressions a bit of a challenge, but she was learning. Smiling slightly, she switched out a steaming bowl for an empty one.

"Tell me if it gets cold before you want it."

"I can heat it up again myself, you know."

He was testing boundaries again, pushing to see her reactions. Waiting for the mask to crumble and swift retribution to fall on his defenseless form. Every time he did, it increased her desire to hunt down those responsible for killing the boy's faith in people. She had very specific plans for the culprits. Honey was good for more than sweetening tea, especially coupled with a convenient anthill and a length of rope.

"I know. Don't. You have little enough energy to spare without wasting it."

Zuko shrugged, seemingly unconcerned by that vulnerability.

Hoshi had been trained to see through what "seemed", and she knew the veneer of control he wore like a second skin had been worn away until it was thin as paper and as easily split. One wrong word, one wrong move, and it would crack like an egg.

At least he trusted the girl.

There were hints, still, of the kind of person he had been: willful, proud, and reluctant to accept the advice of his elders. Typical enough for a boy of sixteen, prince or not. There were also hints of rigid militaristic indoctrination, not so typical for an ordinary teen but familiar from the scores of soldiers Hoshi had treated over her long and varied career.

Hoshi tidied the kitchen and then sat down on the edge of Zuko's mattress.

"I said I wouldn't lie to you, so I won't. There is some...unease concerning your unexpected arrival. Personally I don't know why- if anyone was chasing you on either side they would have caught you long before you made it all the way up here. You can't have made especially rapid progress. Besides that, there's nothing here worth taking, at least nothing the Fire Nation would consider worth the effort."

"Those are threats from other people, not me. How-"

"Do I know I can trust you?" she finished. "I'm a deadly judge of character, Zuko. If you were a monster I'd notice. Besides, you aren't much of a threat like this. You can't even walk without help."

She kept her tone soft to lessen the sting of her words. The Fire Nation placed great emphasis on strength of will coupled with physical prowess. She wouldn't be at all surprised if the young prince, denied the option of appearing esthetically pleasing to others, had simply focused all his energy on ensuring his body would stand any strain he put on it.. No doubt turning himself into a living weapon was a large factor toward why he hadn't simply died of exposure, but it was also a distressing symptom of the larger injury.

"So, everyone will just leave me alone because they're afraid of you."

"Not quite. Elder Haku would like to speak with you, when you're feeling up to it." She laid her hand on his arm, and sure enough though his face remained passive his body tensed at the possible threat.

"He doesn't trust your judgment?"

"He does, but he also has to answer to the entire village."

"Right."

"It's nothing to worry about."

Zuko nodded absently and barely noticed when she left.

She hadn't said what the Elder wanted to talk about, but even if he wasn't considered particularly clever (especially compared to his sister and people always compared him to his sister) Zuko understood enough about the delicate play of "politics" to read between the lines. Unless he was distracted, but right now there was nothing to distract him from ugly realities.

The Elder held power, but it was power granted by the people, like a Mayor or something. The villagers, excepting of course Hoshi and Brighteyes, didn't want him here.

Zuko turned his head and studied the wall. His body was still, but under that deceptive calm alarms went off in every center of his brain. He was bloody helpless, and he knew it, but he also hated waiting. What was point of taking Hoshi's medicines if-

Dammit. That was the worst part. He didn't _know_ what they wanted. He didn't _know_ what they would do. It was the same damn waiting game they'd put him through back at the North Pole. Hoshi didn't mean to, of course. The Avatar and his friends probably hadn't meant to either- they weren't cruel, just thoughtless.

He wasn't going to wait around this time. He couldn't.

When Hoshi came back the bowl was empty.

The bowl, and the bed.

For one crystalline moment she forgot all her training, forgot that she was a respected healer from an esteemed order, forgot that she was an old woman raising a young child and therefore a role model, and swore with the fury and ease of a fishwife.

***

They were flying again. Sokka didn't want to risk tiring Appa needlessly, but they also couldn't risk staying on the ground. They moved far too slowly for comfort that way.

"Might I ask where you intend to go next?"

Sokka handed over the map only a little grudgingly. He didn't want to like the old man, but he didn't really have a lot to hold against him, after all.

Iroh's eyes widened, and Sokka gave a sheepish sort of grin.

"It's not a very accurate map, but I'm pretty sure we're somewhere over here," he said, indicating their present course with his finger.

Iroh laid another finger on the parchment, far to the north.

"Fong's base is there."

Sokka frowned at the distance.

"He wouldn't have stayed in the area and risked capture," Iroh mused.

"Zuko's not _that_ dumb," Sokka agreed. "Still, it leaves an awful lot of places he could have disappeared to, and with Princess Crazy-pants following us…" Sokka's voice trailed off to let Iroh draw the obvious conclusion.

"Oh, I'm not suggesting we cross her path anytime soon, my boy." Iroh touched his shoulder ruefully. "Not without a more definitive heading, at any rate."

He thought for a moment, eyes narrowed in speculation. Then he placed his finger on the map a little further to the north and west than their current location.

"Would it inconvenience you to go _here_?"

Sokka peered at the illustration, a circular wall surrounding a white ice formation and two odd-looking trees.

"The Misty Palms Oasis," he read.

Katara looked up.

"That sounds refreshing."

Aang poked his head over the saddle. "Oh yeah, I've been there. It's a pristine natural ice spring, and I usually don't use the word pristine. It's one of nature's wonders."

Iroh smiled gently at the boy's enthusiasm.

"It may have changed since you were last there. Few places remain untouched by the war."

Aang dimmed a little. "Oh, right." Then he brightened up again. "But as long as we're going in that direction, there's a stop I'd like to make along the way."

Toph nudged him with her elbow. "Oh, really? What's there, Twinkletoes?"

Aang just grinned. "I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise." Toph probably wouldn't appreciate an ice spring anyway, but she'd absolutely love the singing prairie dogs.

"I guess that's settled then."

Sokka rolled up the map and put it away.

"Set our heading west-northwest," he commanded.

"Aye aye, Cap'n", Aang replied, settling back into his usual "steering" spot on Appa's head.

Sokka turned to look at Iroh.

"Soooo. Why are we going to some random place near a desert to try and find Angry Jerk?"

Iroh let the insult slide.

"There's someone at the Oasis I need to speak with."

"Yeah? Who?"

Iroh settled back. Momentarily surprised by a bony head and wet nose, he relaxed and stroked his hand over the inquisitive lemur. Momo arched his back and then curled up under Iroh's hand and began purring contentedly.

"A friend", he replied.

***

Elder Haku was not expecting visitors.

However, as head of an entire village he often received visitors when he was least expecting them, so when he heard the knock he set down his cup, straightened his clothes, and made his way to the front door to see who was there and what they wanted.

It wouldn't be Hoshi, he knew. She had come by the previous evening to inform him that the Fire Nation prince was recovering slowly and maybe Haku could come by in a week or so when she'd gotten some food in him and he didn't need to stay in bed. Logically, then, he also knew it wouldn't be the invalid teen.

Haku slid back the door and swallowed to prevent his jaw from hitting the floor.

A pale, gaunt face stared back, one gold eye wide in apprehension, the other permanently slitted within ridges of scar.


	15. Chapter 14

It was hard to remember the boy was a Fire Nation prince when he looked so-

_Hollow_.

He was thin as a fence-post, and the cream colored robe Hoshi had given him bunched around the angles of his body. He bent slightly forward, the fingers of his right hand wrapped white-knuckled around a staff that seemed more solid than his limbs. The other arm pressed against his waist, but the too-large robe still gapped and Haku noted the shadowed depression above his sternum, and prominent collarbones poking out from the quilted folds.

His skin was the color of parchment, stretched tight over the bones of his face. Dark shadows ringed his good eye, and his dull black hair hung in lank strands. If Haku had any knowledge of such things, he would compare the boy to a shard of obsidian- sharp but brittle and liable to shatter on impact. As it was, he recognized that intense fragility with a sense of unease and caution.

A breeze stirred the air and Zuko suppressed a shiver, gooseflesh rising on his arms. He straightened slightly, leaning into the staff and curling his bandaged foot. When at last he spoke, his voice was soft and harsh at the same time.

"Elder Ha_ku_?" He stumbled a bit over the unfamiliar form of address and equally unfamiliar name. Haku nodded, so he continued. "Hoshi said you wanted to talk to me-"

"When you were stronger-" Haku began, his voice unintentionally stern, and stopped as the boy flinched and looked down, as if it were a physical blow. The old man winced inwardly- he was not a cruel man, the spirits knew, but he wasn't a particularly gentle one either. He was a grouch, really, and he had no lover, no wife, no children or grandchildren to smooth away the roughly hewn edges of his character.

"Please. I need to know."

Elder Haku stepped back from the doorway, shaking his head.

"Come out of the cold, boy."

He had intended to speak with him privately, but there was no way he had come straight through from the other side of the village without anyone seeing him. Haku could almost hear the furtive whispers rising in speculation. It wouldn't take long, and there was no way to undo what the boy had set in motion. He hadn't wanted to do things like this, but it was too late now.

_Hoshi's going to be pissed._

_***_

Hoshi was pissed, but not at Zuko, or Haku. At least, not yet. No, currently she was cursing her own incompetence.

All the signs were there. The understated dread, the way he tensed when he thought she couldn't tell, the unasked questions hovering on his lips and haunting his eyes. How could she have thought he would wait patiently for the issue to be resolved?

_Think, woman. He knows how weak he is, how vulnerable. He wouldn't get far, he can barely walk-_

A quick glance in the corner to confirm the staff was gone.

_You should have stayed with him. Made sure he understood there was-is- no danger._

_Of course not. Just the possibility that the entire village will decide it's in their best interests to deliver him to the same kind of people he was running from in the first place-!_

No. She wouldn't let that happen_. Think. What was the trigger? _

_I told him Haku wanted to talk. _

_And?_

_Considering what he's been through, he would assume the worst. _

Hoshi didn't know the specifics of Zuko's situation, but she didn't need to. The diagnosis was as obvious to her as a man lying in a ditch with a knife in his chest would be to anyone with eyes.

Unfortunately, her skills seemed to have picked up a hint of rust over the past few years. She'd have to remedy that when she got back, check the thick books she kept well out of reach of childish curiosity, now coated with dust. There were so many things in those pages Brighteyes was simply too young to know, things she hoped the girl would never have to learn.

As if summoned by that thought the child wandered in, and scrunched her nose at the empty bed.

"Where'd he go?"

"To see Haku."

"All by himself?" There was a hint of disapproval in her voice, as if she thought Hoshi had simply let such a thing occur. She wasn't too far off the mark.

"I'm fairly certain he doesn't have a lot of – _patience_ right now. It's all right, love. I'm going after him. Everything is going to be just fine. Wait here, okay?"

Brighteyes nodded. She watched Hoshi leave, wondering why he had bothered to straighten the covers but not to ask for a help. He was still totally wobbly and as far as she knew Haku was planning to come by in just a couple of days anyway. Hoshi wasn't telling her something.

Everything was decidedly not "fine". Pouting, Brighteyes sat down and kicked her feet, toes just brushing the floor.

***

Haku led him to a sturdy chair and Zuko sank into it, leaning sideways into the neighboring table and curling his good foot under him. The old man pulled the staff from his unresisting fingers and leaned it against the wall, courteously out of the way and therefore beyond Zuko's immediate reach.

"How did you find me?"

"It wasn't hard." There were only so many houses, and most of them simply looked like houses. Haku's house looked like it could easily double as Town Hall, which was of course true.

Zuko slumped over the edge of Haku's table. While it was warmer inside, he knew the real reason for inviting him in was the simple fact that the Elder did not want him standing on the front porch were everyone could see.

He wasn't sure what he had expected Haku to be like. He didn't really _have_ any expectations- it was almost a surprise that the term "Elder" was chronologically appropriate. The way Hoshi used it made it seem like a mere formality. Then again, they were probably only a couple of years apart…

Zuko took a moment to observe the man who would be deciding his fate. There was nothing about him to suggest he held any kind of power. He wore a long quilted vest with simple frog closures over a wide-sleeved shirt and loose pants- practical, serviceable, and lacking ornamentation beyond the stitches of the quilting itself.

His long silvered hair was pulled into a simple braid, not the shaved queue popular in the more cosmopolitan areas of the Earth Kingdom. A cloth headband lay across his forehead, embellished with a simple geometric form of nested horizontal rectangles. The face underneath was carefully neutral, as though he was reserving his judgment, or at least his opinion. Zuko didn't think he did that too often.

Past a certain age a man's face begins to retain the expressions he makes most in life, and Haku did not present a smiling countenance. Where Hoshi's face held echoes of concern, the most prominent wrinkles clustered near her eyes and mouth- crow's feet and laugh-lines. In contrast, Haku's eyes (while not as dark and unreadable as Hoshi's) peered out from bushy eyebrows permanently knit downward, the bottom edge almost swallowed in sagging flesh. There were lines around his eyes and mouth, too, but they were hard. Severe.

Haku seated himself and regarded his unexpected "guest." Somehow, something in Zuko's brain had found a reference for "stern authority figure" which more or less fit the situation and Zuko now found himself wondering why he felt like a truant schoolboy sent to the Headmaster. Zuko had never skipped classes. He hadn't been an exceptionally dedicated student, but he was nothing if not dutiful. Besides, even if he had anyone to play hooky _with_, it wouldn't have been worth the punishment- the Headmaster would have left _that_ to his father.

Haku watched the boy shiver, and wondered if was merely a leftover reflex from the outside chill or something else. He hadn't done anything to warrant such a reaction that he knew of, but if Hoshi's suspicions were to be believed-

He sighed. The boy was undeniably damaged, but that only complicated the issue further. Haku was not particularly inclined to find out by direct experience what an emotionally unstable Firebender was capable of.

"Aren't you going to ask me anything?"

"I'm waiting."

"For what?"

"Your defender."

For a moment Zuko almost thought he meant some kind of legal council before realizing Haku was referring to Hoshi.

"We had an agreement," the old man explained.

"Yeah, _later_. I'm not- I can't just sit there, not knowing."

"I see."

The man was as informative as a wall. Zuko hissed in frustration, which turned into a hiss of pain as his injured foot slipped against the floorboards. He clenched his teeth and swallowed it back. He could take it.

"I'm sure she'll be here momentarily."

"Hate to break it to you, but I think I destroyed your agreement already."

"Yes, you have. I had intended to speak with you when you were not so-" Haku caught himself before saying _weak_, " not still recovering. By coming here, like this, you will have roused the whole village. I wanted to avoid that, if possible."

"You prefer a private interrogation instead of a public inquisition?"

Haku kept his face still and suppressed a shiver of his own. _Is that how you see this? I don't want to hurt you, boy. I don't trust you, but I don't want to hurt you either_.

"I wouldn't put it in quite those terms."

"Right."

Haku was right about one thing, though. It wasn't long before Hoshi joined them. She didn't bother knocking, either, just slid the door open, closed it before anyone thought of trying to follow her (because there was, in fact, a crowd starting to form at the door) and stood there with her arms crossed over her chest. Haku offered a vague sort of "this wasn't _my_ idea" expression that Zuko did not see, and Hoshi merely gestured with her chin that he should get up and talk to her.

"They're starting to gather out there," she muttered.

"Then I suggest you find a plan B."

Hoshi shot him a look he wasn't sure he deserved. "Any bright ideas?"

"Let them in."

Both adults stared at him. Old people, it figured. Even uncle was like that sometimes.

"Zuko," Hoshi began, "I'm not sure-"

"Doesn't matter, now. Sorry I ruined your plan and all," _as if I understood why the hell you were trying to be nice to me, _"but I don't really give a damn. Just get it over with. Sooner, I-"

Hoshi crouched down and gripped both shoulders, closing her eyes for a moment as she felt the tremor he couldn't quite suppress.

"Zuko, you don't have to do this."

He glanced up, eyes flickering.

"What makes you think there's a _choice_ involved here?"

***

After several minutes sitting on a too-large chair swinging her feet Brighteyes decided Hoshi wasn't coming back to grab something she'd forgotten in her rush out of the house. She scooted to the edge of the chair and headed for the back door. It led to Hoshi's garden, a square walled yard filled with herbs not readily found in the surrounding hills, alongside more ornamental plants like the jasmine vine climbing a trellis on one wall. There was a also a small gate over there, almost hidden in the summer when everything was in bloom but bare and exposed today. Brighteyes could remember a time when she was too short to reach the simple latch, but that was long ago.

It didn't take long to find the boys. They were in their usual spot, a packed earth yard, pretending they had what it took to impress the army people. Brighteyes knew they weren't really serious about it- none of them would ever pass the trials and qualifications, but more importantly none of them would ever leave Youjing Caodi. It was the only way of life they knew. That didn't stop them from wanting more, even if it was only a game. They didn't even notice when she set herself up in a convenient spot to observe.

The boys tussled for a while, but gave it up when they got tired. More proof they were only playing games and not seriously training. Even Brighteyes, who got most of her ideas on what constituted strength and heroism from fairytales and legends, knew that you couldn't hope to improve unless you faced an actual _challenge_.

When they started talking about Zuko she hunched forward and listened. It was, after, why she had come to spy on them in the first place- grownups probably wouldn't talk to her (even Hoshi was avoiding the subject) but teenage boys couldn't resist listening to their own voices, loud and brash and filled with false bravado. Brighteyes called it false bravado, anyway; it was a term she'd found in a story and she liked it. As far as she could tell Hoshi used the word "hormones" to describe the same thing, which was confusing because as far as Brighteyes knew "hormones" were fluids in the body that made you grow taller or gave you more energy than normal if you got scared, so that you could fight whatever you were scared of.

Craterface and his friends weren't scared. They were just obnoxious. And they called Hoshi names. She bit her lip and listened.

"A town meeting? Oh, yeah, _that'll_ show him."

A shrug. "Whatever. They've got at least one person from every family so no one feels left out, or something, and Haku's got like a big list of questions. Anyway, they're just asking questions."

"And they think he won't just lie? Come on."

"I don't know, I don't think much gets past Haku, old bugger that he is. Plus it's totally impossible to lie to the witch. She reads minds or something."

"Like that's gonna help when she's already on his side."

"Hey, didn't she used to work for the army?"

"Chh, no way. Where'd you hear that?"

Another shrug. Someone kicked a rock.

"Think we could sneak in the back?"

"Window would be better. They wouldn't see us then."

"Stupid grownups."

"Yeah. Stupid grownups."

Craterface suddenly stopped and stared at Brighteyes.

"What are _you_ doing here? How long have you been sitting there?"

Brighteyes gave a knowing little smirk to cover her nervousness. "A while."

He grabbed her wrist and yanked but Brighteyes had too much experience falling on her own to react as her knees hit the packed dirt. She just stood up and brushed off her pants, absently noting the worn fabric had torn through on one side. She'd have to patch that later. Craterface towered above her, arms crossed over his chest as he glowered.

"Yeah? Well guess what, brat? They're gonna haul your new _friend _over the coals until he talks, and then they're gonna lock him away forever."

Brighteyes rolled her eyes. Did he even realize how ridiculous he looked? Or sounded? "Please. Haku looks like a troll, but he couldn't hurt anyone. _You_ couldn't hurt anyone. Plus we don't even _have_ a jail."

One of the other boys sniggered, and tried to bite it back when Craterface turned around, glaring.

"Well then, I guess we'll just have to make one. It's either that or drag his sorry carcass through the mountains to Lan Hu."

Brighteyes bit her lip and glanced down. Shen was in no condition to travel. Craterface loomed over her, eager to press his advantage but bright green eyes flicked upward as she dodged his clumsy attempt to grab her shoulder and landed a solid kick to his shin.

Craterface stumbled backward, doubled over his leg as he cursed.

"Shit! Catch the little bitch!"

"Yeah, sure," someone snorted as Brighteyes made good on her escape, running with a speed only possible to those children who have not yet realized there was actually a limit for such things.

"Hope she didn't break it or anything man."

"Yeah, then you'd have to get Hoshi to fix it for you. She set my little brother's leg, remember?"

Laughter. Craterface gritted his teeth and straightened, but this time his glare had no effect.

"Shut up!"

"No way, man. You just got owned by a little girl." (Butt kicked?)

***

Brighteyes had a stitch in her side and her skinned knee was starting to sting by the time she reached the door to the garden. She latched it behind her and leaned against the worn wooden panels. They wouldn't come after her, there wasn't much point, but she couldn't help feeling nervous.

There were two main influences on the girl- Hoshi and stories. Not petty cautionary tales like other people told their children so they wouldn't stray off the path on the way to visit Grandma. That sort of thing was covered by "common sense". No, the fairytales that Brighteyes knew had more _substance_ than that. They were stories about the nature of courage, the rewards of kindness, the value of cleverness over brute force, the strength of belief.

Brighteyes had gone to spy on the boys because it was the kind of clever solution that happened in fairytales. And it worked. But she was still worried, because those same stories that offered thrilling tales of good triumphing over evil often included grimmer truths as well. Hoshi took care of her, _good_ care of her, but Brighteyes was neither coddled nor sheltered. How could she be? She was an orphan learning _medicine_. She knew what _tapeworms_ looked like.

So she knew that regardless of the fact Craterface was a bully and trying to intimidate her because it made him feel better somehow, there _was_ a danger. Hoshi would probably deal with it, there wasn't a lot the old woman couldn't handle, but that didn't mean Brighteyes should just sit idly by. She was the one who had found him. She was the one who had brought him here. He had called her a hero, and however odd the circumstances of that statement she knew he meant it.

Brighteyes pushed her hair back from her face and drew a deep breath. She needed to be calm for this.

The chairs in the house were stable but not particularly heavy. She dragged one over to the cabinet and climbed up, standing on tiptoe as she reached above her head for the slim sandalwood box. Miraculously, she did not fall off the chair or drop the box on her head. She laid her prize on the table and slid back the cover, revealing long stems of incense. Hoshi kept them for special occasions- New Year's or the solstices.

Brighteyes withdrew one and started toward the garden, then spun around and grabbed a second just to be safe. She hesitated for a moment with her hand on the spark rocks, then thought better of it and lit both from a candle. No point inviting disaster when she didn't have to. Pungent smoke trailed behind her as she headed back out the door.

There was a niche in the garden wall opposite the gate, an arched recess and matching shelf just tall enough to fit a small figure carved from pale wood. The statue depicted a graceful woman in flowing robes standing barefoot on an open lotus blossom. Her face was serenely beautiful with a hint of sorrow, and her upturned hands were open.

The spirits didn't usually intercede directly in the mortal world, but Guan Yin had been known to make exceptions. She was, after all, the spirit of mercy and compassion as well as the patron of Hoshi's order. And really, lighting a couple of sticks of incense couldn't hurt.

Brighteyes planted the incense in a small bowl filled with uncooked rice and stepped back. She set her feet together and bowed, hair falling in her face. Screwing her eyes shut, her lips moved in a silent prayer. Then she straightened and smiled.

_That ought to do it_.

***

Zuko knew, empirically, that it wasn't the entire village, but the room was packed. He recognized a few people more by body shape and clothing than faces- silhouettes filed absently into his brain as he lay on Hoshi's steps. The blacksmith was there, without his burned apron- his face was as guarded and neutral as all the others but his eyes didn't seem as cold.

Hoshi had explained everything calmly as they sat in the Elder's kitchen. Only the Elder would ask questions, he didn't need to answer anyone else. But they would be watching, listening, observing every twitch of his slight frame, scrutinizing every word.

Hoshi stood behind and to his right, one hand casually draped on the back of his chair. He could almost feel her presence, solid, like an anchor.

Elder Haku did not sit. He stood before his chair, "the list" in his hand, studying Zuko's face. Finally he seemed satisfied that everything was in order, there were no stragglers left to file in and interrupt with the rustle of cloth, and nodded.

Zuko took a deep breath. There was a time not so long ago when he would have completely discounted this man. He had done so to many others like him. He remembered following the Avatar to a village near a burned forest, the face of the village leader quaking under his smoldering gaze with Zuko's fist twisted in his shirt as the terrified old man confessed the Avatar's new heading…

But here, now, his gut was clenched in a twisted knot. At that moment, with the weight of everything that had already happened, and the knowledge of everything that _could_ happen, Zuko might as well have been chained in place and facing a Grand Inquisitor.

Still, it was better to _know_ than _not know_.

"What-" he swallowed, "what did you want to ask?"

His words were swallowed in the expectant silence of the crowd. Haku unrolled the wanted poster, his face unreadable.

"I want you to explain this, boy. All of it, so that I understand why, and how, you are here."

"I didn't mean to. I was just running."

Haku nodded briefly. "Why don't you start at the beginning? According to this, you were charged with the task of finding and capturing the Avatar."

Zuko hadn't actually read the charges that closely. There wasn't much point- his father wanted him locked up, shut away for good. _Why_ hardly mattered. The old man continued talking, his voice carefully measured.

"I want to know what happened."

Zuko studied the floor. Hoshi shifted her hand slightly, barely touching his shoulder.

_Go on. It'll be all right_.

Start at the beginning, he'd said.

"My name is Zuko. Son of Ursa, and- Firelord Ozai." _Prince of the Fire Nation and heir to the throne_.

He told them everything.

Well, not quite everything, but enough to prove he wasn't holding back. Why should they care what it felt like to fall from the top of his ship to the harbor 40 feet below or how cold the North Pole was or that he hadn't sought shelter in natural caves after escaping Fong because he could feel the rock above him, pressing down…

Really, he was just being careful how he said things, and omitting specific details that didn't have greater relevance. There was no point making them think he was trying to…garner sympathy. Yes, he had refused to duel his father. Yes, he had been burned and banished. He had chased shadows and rumors for two and a half years with his uncle as guardian and advisor. He told them all of this and more, his voice soft but clear, emotionless. He told them enough.

He told them even more by what he didn't say.

Zuko wasn't really much of a talker, anyway, and his natural inclination lay towards understatement. Unless he was furious past the point of all reason, of course. Then he really ought to keep his mouth shut but couldn't.

_Tell me about the Avatar._

_He's a kid._

Surprise at that- but Zuko had been surprised as well. No, he didn't know how it was possible. Yes, he had witnessed the Avatar State. No, he didn't act like a kid when he was in the Avatar State…

_Tell me how you tracked him._

_It wasn't hard._ People notice a kid with a shaved head and bright blue tattoos. They notice a giant six-legged flying monster.

_Did you ever try to kill him?_

_No. _

And on it went. Haku never seemed to consult the list of questions in his hand, but no one was raising a fuss so he must have been asking what everyone wanted to know. Hoshi left briefly to grab a glass of water- Zuko hadn't even noticed his voice starting to get hoarse. He told them about his chase northward. He included the bit about Uncle getting kidnapped. He didn't tell them about Uncle riding behind him for the rest of the day in nothing but his skivvies.

_Tell me about the North Pole._

_It's cold. Everything is frozen._

He told them everything he had seen, how Zhao had murdered the Moon Spirit. How Uncle had tried to stop it. Told them of the Ocean's revenge, so terrible to behold. And Zhao, grasped in a watery fist, too proud to beg for help. Or had he finally realized his folly, and accepted due punishment for his transgressions? Zuko still wasn't sure.

_I watched him die_.

He hadn't told anyone that before. No one had thought to ask.

Moving on. He couldn't afford to stop now, not when it was getting harder to answer. Had to keep going, push through.

The Water tribe had spared his life. He still wasn't sure why. There were certainly ulterior motives, but he had never been able to determine what exactly those motives were.

_The Avatar forgave you?_

_No. He just didn't want me dead for some reason._

He did not tell them about the anniversary. He hadn't told Katara, either. She'd actually seemed concerned. It was too late to wonder what might have gone differently if- No. His life was none of her business anyway. It was no one's business but his own- yet here he was, calmly describing General Fong, and his descent into hell.

It helped to remain emotionally detached from the experience. Or maybe he was just numb- inured to the horror that was his own life. At the description of the oubliette, Hoshi's hand tightened on the wooden chair-back. Zuko didn't notice.

_How long-?_

Impossible to tell. Zuko swallowed and looked down. His voice was still flat, but there were longer pauses as he dredged responses from the frozen mass that used to be his brain. He didn't seem to notice how far he had curled into himself, hunched forward, arms pulled into his body.

_Go on_.

It didn't occur to him to refuse, to ask for a break, he just wanted to get it over with. So he kept talking, emotions bare on his face and echoed throughout his frame despite the eerie calm of his voice.

Words spilled forth almost without volition as he relived the impossible escape and his scrabbled existence in the wilderness. Halting, stilted sentences, digging his own grave ever deeper with every syllable. Zuko knew he was doomed. He had no excuses to give, nothing to offer in exchange for the barest leniency. And then it was done. He caught up to the present, closed his eyes.

"Is there anything you wish to add?"

There. A glimmer of salvation.

_This isn't- I'm not- I'm not a monster. I'm not a bad person. I had no choice. He took- I lost everything. I just wanted my life back. I just wanted to go home. I didn't mean to hurt anybody. It wasn't my decision. What else was I supposed to do? He didn't give me- I had no choice. There weren't any other options. You don't disregard an imperial decree. He- I was forbidden to enter the Fire Nation. Forbidden to go home, unless he lifted- unless I fulfilled his- fulfilled the terms. There were terms. Where I could and could not go. He wasn't supposed to be a child. Terms- how long I could stay in port, proof I needed repairs, supplies. Uncle could get around that, but not me. I didn't do anything wrong. I was just trying to survive. I have a duty to my country, my people. My father. He- I ran out of time. Used up all my chances. It's no surprise he shut the door in my face. No use for a pathetic weakling. Azula was always his favorite. He wouldn't even talk to me directly, afterward. Sent the terms on parchment. Wouldn't talk to me. Wouldn't look at me. Disgrace of the nation. No son of his. I only had the one chance to make it up to him. The Avatar wasn't supposed to be a child... The other two- why did they have to get involved? Not their business. Should have stayed out of it. I just wanted my life back. Not my place to speak out. I am-was-am bound to serve my-his- The Firelord's word is law. His will is law. No discussion. Refusing his verdict is treason. I couldn't satisfy his- I ran out of time. _

_Doesn't matter._

_No choices, no chances. _

_Doesn't matter._

_I failed. Failure is unacceptable. Failure is treason._

_You already made up your mind anyway._

Zuko shook his head. The old man's face stayed as impartial as ever. He set the papers aside and folded his hands in front of him.

"Is there anything you would like to ask?"

For a long moment Haku thought the boy wouldn't respond, and then his head tilted back ever so slightly. He flicked his eyes up to meet Haku's and then glanced down again. When finally he did speak his voice was even flatter, deader, than before.

"Will they send me back?

The Elder looked blank, unaware of the internal discussion which had lead Zuko to his bleak conclusion.

"When you turn me in, will they send me back to General Fong?"

Finally it sunk in, and Haku swallowed his horror with force. This had the unfortunate side effect of coloring his next words with a hint of anger.

"We aren't going to just hand you over to the nearest Earth Kingdom garrison, boy!"

Zuko flinched visibly, then the troubled expression on his face stilled. He absorbed this new information slowly, and then closed his eyes and seemed to shrink even further into himself.

It took Haku a moment to catch what he had said wrong. Then he reached out and took hold of Zuko's shoulders: even through the thick quilted robe he could feel flesh taught over bone. Tremors, invisible to the eye, ran through his wasted frame. Very, very carefully, he tailored his voice to a more soothing tone.

"Listen to me. We aren't handing you over to anyone. I am not giving you over to power-mad Army brass, and I am certainly not going to sell you for the Firelord's _blood money_. Understand?"

Golden eyes snapped open. Zuko turned his head to one side as though starting to shake his head and stopped. When he spoke, his voice was low and on the verge of breaking.

"Why?"

Haku wasn't sure how to answer. Finally he just squeezed the boy's shoulders and stepped back. The room was already emptying behind him. He locked eyes with Hoshi and nodded. She smiled sadly.

Zuko watched them leave in utter confusion.

_But- I don't- what just happened?_

"Zuko."

Hoshi's unreadable eyes searched his face.

"Let's go."

"Were you planning on carrying him again, old woman? Because you make a lousy human crutch. Too short, at least for him."

Hoshi stepped to one side with a "be my guest" sort of gesture and Jiro maneuvered the stunned teen onto his shoulder before Zuko even noticed he was there. He blinked in surprise to find himself supported. Like many of the villagers, Hoshi and Haku included, the blacksmith was blocky and solid, but he stood at least a head taller than either of them.

"I guess you'll be sticking around for a while," he murmured conversationally, shifting the boy's almost negligible weight.

"I-guess." Zuko responded absently.

"You probably don't remember, but I'm the one that got that blasted shackle off you. Name's Jiro."

"Oh, I-you-thanks?"

A smile tugged at the corner of Jiro's mouth. The kid was not especially coherent, but that was probably just shock. It wouldn't hurt to keep the conversation light, after what had just happened.

"Normally, I work with nails, farm tools… People around here don't have much use for fancy ironwork."

"Where do you get coal?"

The boy's tone was absent, unaffected, but the question was surprisingly- perceptive.

_Feeling condescending are we, Jiro? He's not stupid. _

"Mostly I use charcoal."

"Oh. That makes sense. You'd need a lot of it though, a whole lot of, um, a lot."

No, he wasn't stupid. Just messed up and completely out of it.

Brighteyes greeted them at the door, her eyes slightly puffy. Hoshi gave her a reassuring smile, which she returned.

"You were gone a long time." She turned her attention to the dazed teen sagging against the sturdy blacksmith. He met her eyes as she folded her arms over her chest and stuck out her bottom lip.

"Don't you _ever_ do that again. You scared the life out of me!" she scolded, sounding for all the world like a cranky old woman instead of a little girl.

More specifically, she sounded exactly like Hoshi, and the old woman spared a surprised glance as Brighteyes led Zuko inside.

"I think you're rubbing off on her," Jiro remarked, and she gave a half amused snort.

"You're telling me? She stole my line."

"Word for word?"

"Nah. I would have used a different word than "life". Something stronger. Rhymes with "it"."

Jiro laughed and slapped his thigh. "Now, now, we mustn't corrupt the child."

"Oh, it's far too late for that. I can fix that boy's body, I can try to help mend his soul, but no power on earth can erase the effect of three years exposure to _nautical terminology_, especially on an adolescent male." She sighed. "There are worse fates than gaining an uncouth vocabulary."

Zuko didn't say anything when Hoshi removed the bandage on his ankle, checked the wound, and bound it up with a clean length of white. He drank the broth she gave him, and lay staring at the ceiling. Hoshi replaced the sandalwood box on the shelf and restored the borrowed chair to its usual position. Brighteyes fidgeted a little while Hoshi steeped chamomile tea.

"Everything's all right now, love. Zuko's going to stay with us for a while."

"I know. I asked Guan Yin to fix everything."

Hoshi smiled. That explained why the incense box was out, anyway.

"That was very smart, my dear, but you didn't have to. I _am_ her servant, you know. And I was taking care of it."

"Oh. Right. I guess I was praying for reinforcements, then."

"Oh yea of little faith," she replied, her voice mock stern. "I used to arm wrestle Generals, my dear. I can handle one small-minded community."

Brighteyes laughed, but it was the laughter of relief, not joy. She must have been worried sick. Briefly, Hoshi considered how much of the day's events she ought to relate, and then decided it was really Zuko's decision. Her eyes flicked up, across the hall to the next room. He hadn't stirred.

She could only hope that given the day's outcome, the experience might serve a therapeutic purpose, but it had been undeniably traumatic as well. She wouldn't be surprised if he was trying to force shattered preconceptions into entirely new shapes and wounding himself on the edges in the process.

_Well, that's what I'm here for, isn't it? Thank the spirits Haku has half a brain- that could have turned ugly. Well- uglier._

Hours later, Hoshi came and knocked on Elder Haku's door. He was still awake, of course, sitting by himself and watching a candle-flame dance on the table before him.

He looked up as she entered, eyebrows raised.

"You aren't worried he'll up and disappear on you?"

"Not a chance. I dosed the little bugger. Added a little extra to his chamomile. Scared the crap out of me, pulling a stunt like that. If he didn't need to eat so badly I'd make sure he didn't wake up for the next three days, just so I can get my heart rate back to normal. I'm not a young woman, you know."

Haku nodded. He wasn't feeling particularly spry anymore either, though Hoshi's active lifestyle put him to shame. He gestured to the candle, encompassing Hoshi, the door behind her, and all that lay beyond in the motion.

"That boy thought we were going to feed him to the buzzard-wolves."

"I know." She seated herself opposite him.

"Not one word in his own defense. Not a single-"

"Excuse?"

Haku closed his eyes and laced his fingers together before him.

"Explain this to me, Hoshi. I don't understand."

Hoshi pursed her lips. She didn't speak to many people about her life before she had brought Brighteyes to the mountain fastness, seeking a change from that life as much as a safe haven to raise the child who had come to her so suddenly and inexplicably. Her past wasn't a secret- she just didn't talk about it casually. Haku was the rare exception. Talking to her cousin was a far cry from "talking shop" with others of her order, ages ago now, but he understood what she did far better than anyone else in the village.

"He does not _trust_, Haku. He can't. And I expect, in some way or another, he picked up on the fact that you had already reached your- judgment- before any questions were asked. He's hurt, sick, not mentally deficient."

"Hoshi, I made up my mind the second I opened the door and saw his face. I just had to make everyone else see…"

"I know that. You should realize, however, that it probably felt like a twisted charade, a rigged game. It is my educated opinion that he knows far too much about rigged games. I also suspect there is a great deal he left out, for fear you would think he was playing for pity."

Haku's eyes snapped open. "Looking like that, he hardly needs to _say_ anything. It's written all over his entire body! Is it even possible to fake- that?"

"That" meant more than Zuko's physical condition. It encompassed everything about the boy that was small and broken, pathetic, desperate beyond redemption...

"Only to a very small number of people born completely without conscience. Perhaps a handful in the entire world could pull it off, but they wouldn't bother without something to gain by it."

Haku frowned.

"Zuko isn't one of them. He doesn't hide things very well; his emotions are too transparent. I'm sure he _can_ lie, everyone does for one reason or another, but what happened today was no deception."

"I know. It would be too easy, too convenient." The truth was infinitely worse. "It's just- the way he looked at me. Like I was his- executioner, or something. He made it worse than it had to be-"

"Haku. He's sixteen. He's injured. And he's a fighter."

"And this magical formula explains everything, does it?"

"Do you even remember being sixteen old man?"

"I remember I was jealous of Tian because he could grow a mustache."

Hoshi rolled her eyes. "Well that much hasn't changed. You still can't grow a mustache."

They both laughed at the old joke.

"What would you have done, if things had turned out differently?"

"Insisted he was too weak to travel, and then when your guard was down, smuggled him away in the middle of the night."

"With Brighteyes?"

"Of course. She's not a helpless little thing anymore, Haku. She has a better head on her shoulders than a lot of people I've encountered. Besides, it was her idea to train that shaggy featherbrain as a "valiant mount" instead of a pack animal. I'm not entirely certain how she managed it."

"Fairytales."

"Indeed."

Haku shook his head.

"You needn't act so dismissive. In case you hadn't noticed, things aren't exactly "business as usual" in old Youjing Caodi."

"You can't be serious, Hoshi."

"I'm completely serious. When I came back this afternoon, Brighteyes had lit incense in supplication to Guan Yin."

Haku raised his eyebrows. "That seems a tad redundant. Why would the Spirits send someone when they already had a willing mortal agent on the scene?"

"I'm flattered you think so highly of me."

Haku batted a hand. "I just meant that you've devoted your life in the service of the spirit of mercy, the goddess of compassion herself. I doubt the Spirits care much one way or the other what happens down here in the mortal world."

"Would you like a vision exam, Haku? Or should I be worried about your mental capacity finally diminishing? That boy is the heir to the Fire Nation."

"I think you mean _was_. That bounty speaks very loudly against any claim to the throne- I think it's safe to say he's been completely disowned."

"Dammit, Haku!" Hoshi stood up and slammed her hands on the table, making the candle jump and nearly extinguishing the flame. "By all rights he should be _dead._ He should have died when that Admiral tried to snuff him out, he should have frozen to death in the North Pole, he should have drowned in that underground river, he should have starved in the wilderness, or been attacked by wild beasts or fallen from a cliff or been _struck by lightning_! But he wasn't, Haku. Instead, _the Firelord's son_ somehow managed to crawl, bleeding and broken, to one of the few places he could possibly hide. To a healer who wouldn't give three figs and a rotten haddock-rat who he was or where he came from. And you think this is somehow a coincidence?"

"Hoshi…"

"Don't you dare mock Brighteyes and her belief, Haku. She's absolutely right to think this a fairytale. The spirits are meddling here, Haku, they have their fingers all over that boy."

"Is that why you're so adamant about helping him?"

"No. I'm helping him because he needs it. But I cannot ignore the fact that someone, possibly more than one someone, has taken an- interest- in him."

Haku was silent for a while. Hoshi pushed her braid back from her shoulder and sat down.

"Do you think they mean to help him, too, Hoshi? Are they on his side?"

"I don't know."

Implied in that simple response was the uncompromising threat that if they weren't, there would be hell to pay.

They sat quietly for a while, watching the candle flame dance on the table between them.

"Hoshi?"

"Yes?"

"He can stay as long as he needs."


	16. Chapter 15

Hoshi was an early riser by habit. Long ago, when she was a student at the Institute, she had been able to function on very little sleep, and had simply taken naps during the breaks of her erratic schedule. Now, after decades of routine, her sleeping patterns had become set. She couldn't afford to waste daylight hours; there was simply too much to do.

She checked on Brighteyes, but the child was still slumbering in the next room, hair scattered over her face, hands curled near her open mouth. Smiling at the image, Hoshi lingered in the doorway before descending from the sleeping loft to the lower level of the house.

Zuko was likewise sleeping, his body slack in drug-induced rest. It would wear off soon enough. Hoshi was not a huge fan of sedatives- they could hide telltale symptoms and delay recovery if used improperly or too often, but the boy needed to sleep.

Hoshi deftly braided her hair and pinned it in place, reflecting that with both children asleep it was a perfect time to check the books. She may have been somewhat flippant with Haku the previous night (humor was a coping mechanism, after all, and she was only human) but really she was buying herself time.

Hoshi dragged a tome from the upper shelf and thumbed through the pages. Hand-written notes littered the margins, observations and advice Hoshi had considered important enough to record for posterity. True, her memory was still good, but when you don't deal with something on a daily basis it was always best to consult text. Brush up on old skills and information; clear the cobwebs from your head.

This particular text was arranged in no logical order, but despite the difficulty in finding what you were looking for, Hoshi still consulted it first because the descriptions tended to be more _meticulous_ than the basic reference she used giving Brighteyes her lessons. The material was also far darker, given that depth of research. Hoshi often suspected the author may have had experience with some of the conditions described on more than an objective level. But then again, who would be a better expert than someone who had experienced the subject matter first hand?

At last Hoshi found the entry she sought. She marked the page, fixed herself a cup of tea, and began to read, placing the steaming teacup in easy reach.

Within minutes she had forgotten all about the tea, her concentration broken only by a muffled scrape on the porch. Setting the book to one side, Hoshi went to the front door. There was no one to be seen when she opened it- if her visitor had wanted to be known they would have knocked- but Hoshi just smiled slightly, shook her head and accepted the small battered crate for what it was; an anonymous donation.

She placed it in the kitchen, pausing briefly to check on her patient. He was still fast asleep, but it seemed more natural, his limbs relaxed instead of weighted down and unresponsive. His fingers curled slightly, but they weren't twisted into the covers or clenched into fists.

_At least he's not having nightmares._

_Yet. His body is too exhausted for his mind to pay attention to dreams right now._

Hoshi sighed.

_I'm getting too old for this._

_Nonsense. This is what you do. There aren't many left like you, you know. Who else would be able to help him? _

_I know. I brought this on myself. Don't remind me._

Brighteyes wandered down the steps, rubbing her eyes. She peered curiously at the book, but fortunately the open page did not have illustrations.

"Your tea's gone cold."

Hoshi turned around and blinked.

"Yes, I suppose I forgot about it. Would you like some?"

Brighteyes nodded, still half-asleep as she plopped into a nearby chair.

"What's in the box?"

"I don't know yet. Someone left it for us at the door." Hoshi quickly shut the book and slid it back into place, threw the cold tea onto a plant near the back door (it favored acidic soil anyway) and busied herself with breakfast. Brighteyes studied the box thoughtfully as Hoshi cooked and made a new batch of tea.

"Can I open it?"

"Of course, love," Hoshi replied absently, hands busy with kitchen utensils.

Brighteyes hooked her foot around the box and dragged it over the floor, then flopped forward in her chair to see what was inside.

"I think it's for Shen. That's funny, yesterday everybody hated him."

"Yesterday nobody besides the two of us _knew_ him," Hoshi corrected gently.

Brighteyes replaced the too-large clothes and settled back in her chair. "What happened?"

"He talked to them." Sort of.

"That's good, right?"

"Yes, it's good."

"We'll have to make these smaller."

"Then we should probably wait until he gets stronger. There's no point taking in clothes to fit a skeleton when we intend to fatten him up."

Brighteyes giggled over the rim of her teacup. She craned her head around the chair, across the hall to the sleeping teen.

_He looks so peaceful._

***

Flying, Toph thought absently, lost its novelty fast. Sure, the first time it had been sort of thrilling, but now she was used to the not-quite-queasy sensation in her stomach that lurched whenever Appa made a sudden course correction, and on the whole the experience had lost even that fleeting appeal. It beat walking for miles with a pack on her back, but it also made her feel completely cut off, _truly_ blind. She hated having to ask people to "assist" her.

Talking helped keep her attention elsewhere, so did playing pranks on Sokka. He really was a ridiculously easy mark. Part of her was flattered that he kept forgetting she couldn't see, and she could almost feel Katara shaking her head every time her brother fell for Toph's little jokes.

Right now, she was slumped over the edge of the saddle in her usual spot, running her hands over the smooth wood. It was reassuringly solid. Not as good as rock, of course. She couldn't feel vibrations through wood- she wasn't "tuned" to it- but it was better than nothing. Her fingers hit a rough patch and her face scrunched.

"Hey, you guys get in a firefight or something?"

"A couple, actually," Katara murmured, then looked up. "Why?"

Toph shrugged. "Feels like the wood got a little scorched right here. Nothing big, I just sort of noticed."

Katara crawled to Toph's side and craned over the edge. Sure enough, there was a scorch mark on the outer edge of the saddle. It was only slightly darker than the surrounding wood, and barely gritty under Katara's fingertips.

"Well that's weird. I don't remember getting hit…"

Her voice trailed off as she felt the shape of the burn- four points of contact radiating up toward the edge, almost as if-

_This is where he was sitting. He turned away, and didn't say anything for hours. Just stared at the horizon. One hand clenched white knuckled on the edge of the saddle, staring __**west**__._

"Katara?"

Toph couldn't really judge the older girl's emotions unless they both had their feet on solid ground, but Katara was awfully close and she seemed to have frozen in place.

"What's wrong?"

"It's probably nothing."

"Uh huh. Sure. Why does "nothing" feel suspiciously like a handprint?"

"Because it's not from the all too frequent times we have had to dodge enemy fire, Toph. It's something left over from Zuko having a bad day."

"How bad is bad? Just curious."

"I don't know, Toph. It's not like we became _best friends_ in three weeks and he confided his deepest fears to me. He was…defensive. I had no idea this was even here."

"Obviously."

Katara was feeling oddly reluctant to open up on the subject. Sokka had managed to describe Zuko's "stay" with them without sounding like a _complete_ jerk, which was impressive all things considered. Iroh had listened intently, patiently bearing Aang's frequent interruptions and tangents, and occasionally directing inquiries to Katara. Then he had sat back, his face thoughtful but otherwise unreadable. Finally he seemed to drift off.

He was awake now, though.

"May I?"

Toph scooted to one side as Iroh ran a hand over the flawed wood. As much as it worried him that Zuko couldn't always hold his temper in check, he did seem to take out his issues on inanimate objects far more often than, say, people. With the exception of yelling at Uncle, which the old man bore patiently for reasons that were no one's concern but his own.

"I did not wish to say anything earlier, considering how much _concern" _he refused to say guilt, "you expressed before, but at this point I feel that would be a disservice." He settled back in his previous position, but kept his back straight instead of lounging into the cushions. "I wasn't sure, but now that your brother has so generously provided a clearer timetable… well… it would seem you reached the general's base on the anniversary of Zuko's banishment. Three years to the day exactly."

Iroh caught Katara's hand before it flew to her mouth, and smiled gently. "There is no way you could have known. I am sure it was not the most pleasant way to spend the day for anyone involved, but believe me when I tell you I am grateful he had company, however unwanted, on that particular day."

Katara closed her eyes and nodded. Then she gasped as Aang's voice sounded close to her ear. When had he gotten there?

"Did something happen before? On the other…anniversaries?"

Iroh smiled sadly and looked away. Then his face took on a puzzled expression as he saw the field rising under them, riddled with dark spots.

"Are we landing so soon?"

"Oh, yeah. We're here," Aang explained, all worries of his former nemesis forgotten in the prospect of sharing something exciting with his friends. "Now where did I put that flute?"

***

"Hey, sleepyhead. You hungry?"

Zuko turned his head toward the door. Hoshi usually kept it mostly closed- a compromise between giving him space and needing to keep track of his condition- but Brighteyes slid the framed rice paper all the way back. She was wearing an oddly formal dress today instead of her usual shirt, pants, and over tunic, and he found himself wondering what had happened to her normal clothes. She was so active, skirts just didn't seem practical.

Not that he knew from experience- his sister's friend Mai had mentioned something about it once. Even as a child, she had detested "girly" clothes. Strange, he'd spent most of the last three years trying to regain the life he had lost, but hardly ever spent any time actually thinking about that life. He suddenly wondered if Azula had mellowed any, or had simply gotten worse. Was she still friends with Ty Lee and Mai? Why was he even thinking about this? He'd never see them again. He could never go back.

"Shen?"

"I'm always hungry." That hadn't always been the case, but it was true enough now.

Brighteyes nodded and closed the door part of the way. When Hoshi came in with a steaming bowl, he caught a glimpse of the girl bent over a bundle of cloth. Her eyes narrowed as she held a thin needle into the light. It took her a couple tries to thread it, and then she promptly pricked her finger and stuck the injured digit in her mouth.

"Brighteyes," Hoshi warned, and the little girl took her finger out of her mouth and sighed.

Hoshi waited a moment before turning her back on her charge. Zuko eyed her curiously. He had the oddest sense that the healer held more concern for him than her position really warranted. Then again, the healers responsible for his recovery after the Agni Kai didn't have much sympathy to spare for the disgrace of the nation. Maybe he was reading too much into her kindness.

"I spoke with Haku last night. I know he didn't say as much to you specifically, but he wanted to make sure you understood you're welcome to stay as long as you like."

"Oh. Okay."

Hoshi smiled gently and sat down on the edge of the cot.

"I know yesterday wasn't the most pleasant experience in the world-" she began.

"I've had worse," he muttered.

"Yes, you did rather say as much. I know everything turned out for the best, but for future reference I'd appreciate advance warning before you attempt to stop this old woman's heart, thank you."

Zuko stared at her, and blinked slowly. It wasn't his imagination.

"Why the hell do you care what happens to me, anyway? You don't know me, Hoshi, you don't owe me anything-"

Hoshi shook her head. This probably wasn't the time to explain that wasn't how things worked. Not with her.

"You're a human being, Zuko. That's the only reason I need. It kills me to say this, but barging in totally unprepared probably proved that point to my neighbors far more effectively than any argument I could have made in your defense."

"I didn't- huh?"

Hoshi gave a crooked smile. As suspected, Zuko's stellar use of reverse psychology on the village residents had been completely unintentional.

_Nothing like a half-dead child quietly accepting judgment to knock them off their moral pedestals. It takes a truly heartless person to watch someone just take it and not be moved to sympathy. Which reminds me…_

"I had a visitor early this morning. They left clothes for you."

Zuko peered past the door and across the hallway.

"Is that what she's sewing?"

"No. Brighteyes skinned her knee yesterday, she has to fix her pants. We'll alter everything to fit when have some meat back on your bones." Hoshi patted his knee and stood to leave. "Eat your breakfast. You've got a ways to go yet before I'm willing to declare you fully recovered. In the meantime, all you need to worry about is getting your strength back, alright?" She stood and turned to leave

"No, wait-"

She turned back, one hand resting on the door frame. Zuko flicked his gaze away momentarily, trying to find words for the swirling confusion in his head. He wasn't sure what he wanted to say, or ask, but it was important and he didn't want her to leave.

"If you'd like to talk, I'm here to listen. I haven't told Brighteyes anything yet, if that's what you're worried about. If you want me to explain so you don't have to, that's fine. It's your decision."

His decision. How long had it been since he had a choice, since he'd been the one in control? Impossible to answer that. All his life there had been boundaries, expectations, all the invisible threads of control woven around him.

Zuko shook his head. "Not that, it-"

_What __**do**__ I tell Brighteyes? Hey, sorry, I'm not actually a nice person I'm just exhausted, normally I wouldn't pay the slightest bit of attention to you? If I wasn't hurt I would have broken into your house, stolen food and probably your ostrich-horse so I wouldn't have to go on foot? That I attack civilians and terrify children? _

_Since when do I care what some Earth Kingdom peasant thinks?_

_Since she saved my life. Ass._

_Right. Crap._

_Besides. She's nice. I like her._

_Yeah._

"Tell her- tell her whatever you want. I'm not very good at talking to people…"

Hoshi nodded. "Alright." She waited, knowing there was more.

"I- you said you wouldn't lie- I can trust you, right?"

Hoshi carefully folded her hands. "Yes."

"I don't know- there's something wrong. It's all messed up."

"What is?"

"Me. The world. Everything. It's not supposed to work like this, right?"

"That depends who you ask, but as far as I'm concerned, no."

_You should be able to trust your own family. Loyalty shouldn't be punished. Children shouldn't be used as soldiers. You should have been protected by the Avatar's assurances of fair treatment. Fong should not have tortured you regardless. No, Zuko, the world isn't supposed to be like this._

"Nothing- nothing makes sense anymore. I just, I don't- I don't know what I'm doing. I don't understand. Tell me what to do. Hoshi, I don't- help me?"

It would be so easy, so very, very easy to take advantage of that vulnerability. Hoshi closed her eyes briefly and swallowed.

Possibility one, he would latch on to everything she said, completely discarding his previous life and replacing it with whatever she chose to "feed" him, clinging to her every word and devoting himself to the opposition with the same blind loyalty he had shown to the egomaniacal monster he called father.

Possibility two, he would summarily reject whatever she said as outright lies, an attempt to win him over to the enemy side, to make him betray everything he believed in, which would of course destroy the tiny seed of trust- no, _hope_- just starting to take root within him. As much as he needed a dose of cold hard truth to use as a basis of comparison and reorient his brain, this was _not_ the time.

"Zuko, I can't tell you how you ought to feel about all this. I can't tell you what to think."

"Why not? Aren't old people supposed to give advice all the time?"

"It's part of oath I swore, actually, not to force my beliefs on other people. I can offer advice, yes. I can lend my ear if you want me to listen. I can offer my shoulder to (_cry on_) lean on, but you have to make up your own mind. I can't choose for you."

"You're really weird, you know that?"

People told him how to think all the time. Mother, Father, Uncle, Azula, Zhao- hell, _Katara_. Why should Hoshi be any different? People were always telling him what to do- do this, do that, don't do this, don't do that- and now he was seriously confused to the point he actually _wanted_ some kind of guidance and Hoshi wouldn't cooperate. He wanted to scream.

"It isn't my place to decide things for you, Zuko. I'm sure you'll figure it out. It's going to take a while to get your strength back, so I'm going to suggest you take it easy."

"But-"

"Zuko, listen to me. You just need a little time to sort everything out again, and you'll have plenty of that while you heal." She squeezed his shoulder gently and repeated, "You'll figure it out."

***

Toph really wanted to take one of the little singing things with them, but she knew they couldn't. The prairie dogs were obviously a tightly-knit community, it wouldn't be fair to separate one of the little guys just because she felt like it. And her "pet" wouldn't be any happier flying through the air than she was. Still, it was hard not to fall in love with them, especially after that one had popped up right underneath Sokka and surprised the heck out of him.

"Hey Twinkletoes. I know we're technically on the lam from the forces of evil or whatever, but this is seriously the best vacation _ever_."

She could almost feel his smile.

"I'm glad you like it, Toph."

The prairie dogs were good for more than getting Sokka, though- they were also a great distraction. Thank the Spirits everyone had finally stopped talking about Zuko. When Iroh had first mentioned him Toph was curious about this mysterious "Nephew" she had reminded him of. Now she just wanted everyone to shut up about it.

Katara kept freaking out about "messing things up" and "missed opportunities", prompting Iroh to reassure her that there was nothing to feel guilty about. Aang just got really quiet when the subject came up, but Toph had been around him long enough to realize that it was a cover and he was all twisted up inside, which made it all the more infuriating that Sokka was completely unconcerned about the entire thing and not at all sorry.

They were making way too much out of it, as far as she could tell. Iroh, she could forgive. Zuko was all he had left in the world, and despite his usual jovial nature she could tell he was carrying a great sadness. The rest of them needed to get over themselves and move on. If they found Zuko they could deal with things then, but in the meantime it would be really nice if everyone could stop airing dirty laundry every five minutes. Seriously.

Aang trilled on his flute and the prairie dogs mimicked the sound. Toph smiled.

"Alright, guys. Fun times and all, but we need to get going."

"Ah, Sokka, come on!" Katara sounded unusually flippant. Toph was slightly surprised the other girl _had_ a fun, irresponsible side, but there it was.

"Look, I have to admit we could use the break, but we've been here long enough. We still have a ways to go before we reach the Oasis and-"

"All right, all right, we're going already. What is _with_ you lately? You haven't pulled this kind of "I'm the leader" thing since we met Jet."

Toph could feel the disapproval for said mentioned party seeping into the ground around Sokka's feet. She wondered briefly who Jet was and what he'd done to earn that reaction. She'd have to ask about it later.

"Katara, you know how important this is. We need some intelligence if we're gonna win this war."

Katara stood swiftly and brushed off her skirt. "Alright, we'll get Iroh to his friend at the Oasis, and then we'll look for Sokka's _intelligence."_

Aang smirked, Toph laughed out loud, and even Iroh smiled. Sokka made a face. Toph poked him.

"Oh come on, Mopey. We're just kidding. Can't you take a joke?"

"I like jokes just fine, thank you. I'll have you know I'm a very joke-loving person."

"With a terrible sense of humor," Katara felt obliged to point out.

Typically, Sokka spent the next few hours attempting to prove his wit. By the time they reached the Oasis, Toph was beginning to rethink her position on the whole "no more talking about Zuko" issue- but only a little.

"Well this stinks."

"You said it, Toph," Sokka muttered, prompting Katara to elbow him in the ribs. Aang didn't really hear. He'd been forewarned, and really, Iroh shouldn't need to remind him how much the world had changed. Aang loved his friends, his crazy patchwork "family", but the truth was he had only known Sokka and Katara for a couple of months and Toph less than that. It has still hard to accept that everything he had known was gone. Forever.

He'd seen so much since waking up in the South Pole, Katara's clear blue eyes filled with curiosity and concern as she peered down into his face. The Southern Air Temple was nothing more than empty ruins now, the gardens overgrown and haunted by skeletons of attacker and defender alike. The Northern Air Temple had been adapted by the Mechanist to house displaced refugees. He'd gotten over that seeming desecration- the Temples were supposed to be lived in, and the monks had always reminded him that however solid his environment felt, all aspects of life were essentially impermanent. He was glad Teo lived there, now. But he couldn't deny that it had been a painful shock to see the change.

He had known long before they landed that history had not been kind to the Oasis. The swaying palms were gone, the outer wall tumbledown. Even the ice spring seemed neglected, despite being the only source of water in the region. How could people let things fall so far into disrepair?

His bitter nostalgia faded somewhat as Iroh took the lead, threading past travelers to the largest and best kept of the buildings- the tavern. Sokka didn't seem to mind the old man taking over- right now Iroh was the logical choice as leader, and he stepped aside temporarily in much the same way he did when Aang went into "battle mode". That was really the only time Aang found himself in charge, and he didn't like it very much. Everyone expected him to know what to do, and he didn't.

Aang startled slightly as Katara wove her fingers through his and squeezed. He gave her a reassuring smile. No one in the party happened to notice the message board standing near the door as they filed into the tavern.

Aang's eyes brightened as he saw the bartender mixing fresh fruit drinks _with his swords_. They were matched Dao blades, like the ones Zuko had used when he was masquerading as the Blue Spirit (did Iroh even know about that little incident?), but somehow Aang couldn't imagine the scowling prince ever using weapons for something so frivolous. The drinks looked _fun_, and somehow the words "Zuko" and "fun" simply couldn't coexist in the same thought. He wouldn't mention that to Iroh, though. He wasn't a complete moron, after all. He had tact. Sometimes.

Toph hacked and spit, much the same way as the strangely cowled man outside the front door. None of the other bar patrons seemed to even notice, but Katara made a face.

"Toph! That's disgusting."

"Sorry, Prissy-pants. My throat feels really dry, though. Whaddya say we get something to drink while we wait for I-" she caught herself just in time, remembering that it probably wasn't a good idea to advertise the fact they were traveling with the Dragon of the West. "I mean, while we wait for _Uncle_ to do whatever he's doing."

Sokka eyed the ripe mangos on the bar and practically drooled in anticipation, then attempted to cover it up by waving one hand casually and remarking in a nonchalant tone: "I don't see anything wrong with having one of those fruity beverages while we plan our next step."

Iroh, meanwhile, had wandered over to the far corner, where an unassuming looking man sat behind a worn Pai Sho table.

"May I have this game?" he inquired. The other man nodded, his dark eyes twinkling in the gloomy atmosphere.

"The guest has the first move."

Iroh placed the lotus tile in the center of the board, and the man's eyes twinkled brighter. "I see you favor the white lotus gambit. Not many still cling to the ancient ways."

Iroh inclined his head at that simple truth, as well as the coded words. "Those who do can always find a friend."

"Then let us play."

Nursing their drinks, the four friends sat and watched as the tiles practically flew across the board, each player making his move quickly and decisively. Aang narrowed his eyes as a pattern emerged. It seemed so familiar, but for all the times he had played against Gyatso he'd never actually seen _this_. He shook his head. Maybe he'd seen the strategy when Gyatso was playing against one of the senior monks?

When they finished, the tiles formed a lotus on the board and the wizened man held an air of satisfaction, as if a personal theory had been validated.

"Welcome, brother. The White Lotus opens wide to those who know her secrets."

Iroh smiled.

Sokka was not pleased to be left in the flower shop while the two old men disappeared. He knew there was more to the situation that met the eye, and while honestly if _he_ was part of some secret organization he'd be careful about allowing non-members in as well, it still rankled that they had to be left behind while _the Firelord's brother_ involved himself in clandestine doings behind a thick wooden door.

It was one thing for Iroh to say that he still had some influence despite being in his brother's disfavor. It was completely different for some random guy in the middle of nowhere to take them in with no questions asked and murmur things to Iroh like "It is an honor to welcome such a high-ranking member of the Order of the White Lotus. Being a Grand Master, you must know so many secrets".

On the plus side, the fruity drink things were really refreshing, and on top of that the anteroom where they were waiting smelled like exotic flowers. It beat standing out in the hot sun, anyway.

"Oh no- Appa!"

"What about him?"

"Well, ignoring the fact that he attracts attention like nobody's business, what are we supposed to do if the crazy monster gets sun-stroke? I don't wanna fall out of the sky again!"

"Relax, Sokka. Appa shed his winter coat, and I _have_ been here before, remember? He'll be okay."

"He's still far too noticeable. A place like this is probably "neutral"- has to be, since it's the only water source for the whole area."

"You say that like it's a bad thing," his sister remarked.

"It is a bad thing! _Nowhere_ is neutral anymore- not really- they probably don't have an allegiance to either side, just money! Or to whoever shows more power at the moment! It's like that stupid port-town where we ran into those pirates."

Aang looked at him hard and poked a finger at Sokka's head. "Okay, now I'm starting to think _you_ have sun-stroke. Why are you so paranoid?"

"Because there are secret things going on that _I don't know about_!"

Sokka nearly jumped out of his skin as a door opened, then attempted to cover it up by striking a "threatening pose". He looked ridiculous, and Katara swallowed hard to prevent mango juice from spurting out her nostrils. The man from the Pai Sho game regarded them curiously. Keeping his tone light, he informed them that the meeting might take a while.

"Your bison has been made comfortable for the duration. If you wish, I will show you to your rooms."

"If we wish, huh? What if I wish for you to give us some answers?"

"Ask. If I can tell you, I will. If not, I won't."

"That's just- gah. Fine. Who are you, anyway? How do you know the old man? And what did you do to the Avatar's bison?"

The old man smiled and bowed.

"My name is Master Fung. I have not had the pleasure of meeting Master Iroh before this day. The bison is sheltered in the warehouse behind this shop, where he will be protected but not eat all our merchandise. I understand Sky Bison have prodigious appetites."

Sokka scowled, but Katara laughed. "If you're worried about appetites, you should keep an eye on my brother here. He eats more than Appa."

"That's not true! Besides, if anyone around here is a bottomless pit, it's Momo. That thing eats like three times his weight every day." Sokka pointed an accusing finger at the lemur draped around Aang's shoulders. Momo blinked and licked Sokka's finger.

Sokka snatched his hand away. "Gah! Now the little monster is trying to eat _me_!"

Katara placed a hand on her brother's shoulder to calm him down. "Relax. You probably have fruit juice all over your hands," she soothed before turning to their host.

"Thank you for your hospitality, Master Fung. Don't mind Sokka, he's just tense because we've been traveling so long. It's been kind of a rough trip lately. We'd like to see those rooms, now. I'm sure some time to rest will settle everyone's nerves."

Toph snorted as obnoxiously as possible. "She means Snoozles is cranky and needs a nap."

Sokka protested vehemently, (he was not a toddler craving naptime, thank you, he was a warrior, nearly a grown man, protector of the other three and therefore needed to know what was going on) but inevitably the soft, welcoming bed won that argument hands down. Aang flitted off to the warehouse-turned-stable to check on Appa (he thought it was kind of sweet that Sokka was concerned about the big guy. Sokka, of course, was a pragmatist and hadn't meant anything so sentimental), and Katara took the opportunity to lecture Toph on manners and hygiene. Having been raised to follow proper society behavior and consciously subverting it at every opportunity, Toph just laughed. Then she picked her toes and spat out the upper floor window of the room they were sharing. She could feel Katara's revulsion through the stone floor, and smirked.

Iroh joined them in time for dinner, where he matched Sokka's "teenage appetite" plate for plate. Fortunately Master Fung seemed rather amused by the situation. When they had finished, Sokka leaned his chair back on only two legs and quirked an eyebrow at the rotund Firebender.

"So. I'm not sure how sitting in a room with spooky secret people helps you find Angry Jerk, but did you?"

"Ah, ha. You are an intelligent boy, young Sokka. Surely you understand the necessity of such discretion."

Toph blatantly licked her fingers but Katara didn't rise to the bait. "Ok, sure. But did you find your nephew?"

"There have been no reports of any kind regarding Zuko since he made his escape. This could be good news, it _is_ good news, because it means he has been careful."

"Zuko? Careful?" Sokka scoffed.

"If I may continue? The lack of sightings is heartening, but it also makes finding him something of a challenge. If you don't mind, I'm going to stay here a while longer. You are welcome as well: the Order will protect you, even if you are not members."

"Taking a break might not be such a bad idea," Katara mused. Then she caught her brother's eye and added, "Of course, we can't stay _too_ long."

"I completely understand. You have your own obligations, after all," Iroh agreed. As agitated as he was, Sokka couldn't help but admire the old man's people skills. Damn but he was smooth. Iroh didn't manipulate people- oh no. He sweet-talked them. _Charmed_ them. Sokka found himself wondering how Iroh fared with the ladies.

"I noticed your interest earlier today, young Aang, Perhaps I might interest you in a game of Pai Sho before you turn in?"

Aang's soft grey eyes lit up. "Would you? I haven't played in a really long time."

"A shame that you have been so deprived of one of life's great delights."

Iroh won, of course. He kicked Aang's butt from one end of the board to the other, but Aang was expecting that. He was out of practice, and despite his destiny as the Avatar, despite the tattoos that claimed the mastery of his native element, he was still an inexperienced novice. He grinned broadly as Iroh explained the flaws to his failed strategy, prompting Sokka to grill the old man thoroughly for any and all explanation of the enigmatic game.

Aang left the two with Iroh patiently explaining and Sokka grumbling good-naturedly. (_That doesn't make sense!) _Once back in his room, though, his face fell. He knew, knew with absolute certainty, that however welcome Iroh made him feel, however kind his words and patient his actions, it was not with Aang he wished to share these observations. Aang was hearing words meant for another.

He understood that Iroh had adopted Zuko as his own after the death of his son and Zuko's subsequent rejection by his father. That made sense. He also knew that Iroh would never callously replace Zuko, so why did it feel like he was receiving a regard Iroh would normally reserve for his nephew?

He sat down on the floor, his thoughts thick and confused. What could Iroh mean by it?

Katara had grown close enough to her friend in the last few months that she could recognize the impending downturn of Aang's mood and followed him. He hadn't bothered to close the door, and she had an unobstructed view as he stared out the window with his arms wrapped around his knees. He could just be stargazing, but…

"Aang?"

When he didn't turn around, she knew her worries were justified.

"Aang, what is it?"

"I was thinking-" he stopped then, and looked at her. Uncurling, he walked to the window and looked out at the sky. His voice seemed small and far away, and she was reminded of the storm when he had finally told her about running away from the Air Nomads, and his destiny.

"I was thinking about what Iroh told us earlier…"

"About Zuko, you mean?

"Do you remember what he said, at the South Pole when he realized who I was?"

_You're just a child._ Katara nodded. "He was disappointed."

"No, I don't think so. It was something else, something I can't quite put my finger on. It's like- he wasn't sent to find _me_. He was sent, no, _ordered_, to seek out, battle and capture someone the Fire Nation considered- terrifying, a-and dangerous. Someone even _worse_ than the Firelord. Someone who might not even be remotely human. Only instead, he got me. And he couldn't let it change what he had to do, even if he hated it-"

"Aang, where are you going with this?"

"What if- what if he used to be like _me_, Katara? Iroh said he was 13 when the Firelord- when it happened. _I'm_ almost 13. Zuko was supposed to do something near impossible, and everyone keeps telling me that I have to save the entire world, and that seems impossible too- but everyone keeps saying that I have to, I have to, I don't have a choice-"

Katara put her hand on his back and he turned, burying his face in her shoulder.

"Katara, what if, after all this is over, I end up like him? Scarred, not just on the outside, but bitter and-"

"Lost?"

They both turned.

Toph was standing in the doorway, her face uncommonly serious.

"Iroh mentioned something like that when I ran into him. Actually, I asked if his nephew was lost and he said yes, sort of. I don't really remember exactly, I didn't think it was that important at the time."

Katara wiped a tear from her cheek, unsure just when it had slid from her eye. "That's alright, Toph, there's no way you could have known-"

"I wasn't finished. I interrupted your little misery party because I needed to remind Twinkletoes here not to be such paranoid, emotional idiot. There's absolutely no way in this world or any other that you could ever end up like this Zuko guy. I've never even met him and I'm still telling you, it just ain't happening. You know why? Because you" and Toph jabbed a finger into Aang's chest, "have friends. And we won't let you."

And just like that she was gone again.

After a moment, Aang leaned backwards against the empty window frame, looking out at the stars upside down this time, and replied in a thoughtful tone, "You know, that makes me feel a lot better about me, but a lot worse about him."

"Mm," Katara agreed.

They stayed like that, watching the wheel of the heavens turn in companionable silence, until Sokka stumbled in and fell face-first onto his bed. Katara offered one last comforting hug before turning in.

Sokka slept in, of course, but not even the continued seduction of a soft mattress and down filled pillows could lighten his mood when he woke. He grunted at Aang's hearty "Good morning!" over the breakfast table and glared at his sister. He would have glared at Toph as well but she was facing not-quite-toward his voice in a way that made it absolutely impossible to forget she couldn't see him, or any expression he chose to wear.

"Looks like someone didn't get enough beauty sleep," she crooned, and he felt his eyes narrowing anyway. Did she _feel_ his expressions somehow? Annoying, that's what it was. The whole situation rubbed him the wrong way.

"I slept just fine. If you don't mind, I'm heading back to that tavern."

"Uh, why?" Aang asked innocently, tossing berries into the air for Momo to catch in his mouth. "Master Fung has plenty of space, and plenty of food. Why don't you relax for a while?"

"Relax? How exactly am I supposed to _relax_?"

"Like this, Grumpy," Toph responded, and leaned back into a pile of cushions with her bare (and very dirty) feet propped on the table. Katara shuddered.

"How can you all be so calm? We have a war to end, a world to save, and you're sitting here playing with food."

"Ok, seriously, what's making you so uptight today? Last night you seemed perfectly happy to have somewhere safe to sleep, a gracious host, and plenty to eat. You were discussing games with Iroh. What gives?"

Sokka poked at a squishy grape. "I was comparing tactics, actually. In case you'd forgotten, we agreed to an intelligence-gathering mission."

Toph picked at her ear. "The word you want is reconnaissance, actually. Reconnaissance mission."

"Yeah, fine, whatever. Sitting here doesn't help with that, now does it?"

Aang stopped throwing things to Momo. "You're acting like you did that time on Kyoshi Island when Suki kicked your butt."

"This is nothing like that," he replied flatly. Katara raised an eyebrow.

"Oh really? So spymaster Sokka isn't feeling a bruise to his pride right now?"

"No. I'm being cautious. You trust people too easily, Katara. Aang is even worse. Remember what happened with Jet?"

"Iroh is nothing like _Jet_," Katara replied heatedly. "Sokka, I don't understand. I thought you liked Mr. Iroh."

"He's okay. I just think it would be a good idea to get some information from an- outside source."

"You think you're going to find someone who knows more about the Fire Nation than the former Crown Prince? Who, exactly?" Katara's voice held more than a hint of scorn.

"Look, I get that you like him, and I guess I like him too, but that doesn't change the fact that he's Fire Nation and only letting us stay here with his friends because he's trying to find Zuko. He's helping himself, not us."

"Sokka, he said he'd be happy to answer any questions we had. Why don't you just go talk to the man?"

"Because he's in another secret meeting with secret people sharing _secrets_. Secrets from _us_. Now unless you have something worthwhile to add to this conversation, I'm going out. See if anyone in this forsaken wasteland knows anything at all."

The door rattled on its hinges as he slammed it behind him, drowning out Katara's shocked "_Sokka_!". She turned sadly to back to her friend.

"I'm sure he didn't mean that, Aang. I bet it used to be really pretty here."

"Yeah," Aang sighed, and scuffed his feet on the floor. "A hundred years ago."

Toph blew her bangs out of her face. "Makes no difference to me _what_ this town looks like."

Aang ignored her.

"Hey, I bet I know what would snap Sokka out this funk. There's a Pai Sho table at the tavern- Master Fung is busy talking to Iroh, so he won't be there today. I doubt there's a lot of people in the morning- no one would mind if I teach Sokka a little _strategy_ to take his mind off things, right?"

This is how they found Professor Zei, head of Anthropology at the Ba Sing Se University and self-proclaimed expert on the legendary Library of Wan Shi Tong.

"Hey Iroh, you're probably gonna be here a while, right?" Aang was practically bouncing on his toes in anticipation.

"Mmm? Why do you ask? Are you planning to leave so soon, then?"

"Well, we met this guy, and Sokka thinks he can help, so we're gonna go on a little trip out into the desert. It shouldn't take too long, couple days, maybe a week tops."

They were not his responsibility. They had traveled alone before meeting him in the ghost town, and seemed capable enough in the time since. Still, they were children, and he worried- but it was not his place to command the Avatar or his friends, children or not. "Be careful. The Si Wong desert is vast, and dangerous."

"Not a problem. Professor Zei has tons of experience, and we're taking Appa."

"Glad to hear it. What are you looking for, exactly?"

Aang shrugged. "A big library. Sokka wants the information inside, but I want to talk to Wan Shi Tong. After all, I _am_ the bridge between worlds, and I bet the Spirit of Knowledge knows tons of stuff that could help the Avatar."

Iroh nodded absently, only half listening. "I'm sure. Still, be careful."

"You said that already."

Iroh looked up and smiled. "It is the prerogative of the old to worry about the young."

"Right. Well, thanks for the advice, I guess. Like I said, we'll be back before you know it."

Now, Iroh was an intelligent man. He was clever, and patient- a natural strategist. He had not survived so long, nor earned his reputation, without cause. But he was also human, and therefore fallible. There were times, he was forced to admit, when the cloak of obfuscating stupidity he wore to such great effect slipped and tripped him, when the crass materialism he played up for the benefit of observers dissolved into genuine avarice, when (Spirits forbid) his apparent age affected his mind ever so slightly to cause a lapse in judgment. For the most part, he was a cunning old fox- and in more ways than one, as the ladies could attest. But every so often, he fell victim to his humanity, and blundered. That time with the hot springs came to mind…

Katara had voiced aloud her opinion that he and his nephew shared no common characteristics, no similarities in temperament, and he had not sought to disillusion her.

The truth was, Iroh shared many traits with the boy. He had simply grown up and learned to temper them, as he hoped Zuko would in time. And while Iroh was more than capable of entertaining several thoughts at once, he could also be stubbornly focused, just like his nephew. Where Zuko had been hell-bent on restoring his birthright and achieving his father's approval, Iroh had been hell-bent on protecting the one remaining connection he had to this world. So it was perhaps forgivable that Iroh's mind was a bit preoccupied when Aang mentioned oh-so-casually where he and his friends intended to go.

_A library in a desert… now why does that sound familiar? I could have sworn someone mentioned something about that. _

It wasn't until the friends were piled on Appa's saddle, Professor Zei taking notes on the sky bison's physiology, that the pieces finally clicked together.

_Dammit- Zhao! Tui and La! Spirits, __**no**__._

Iroh ran outside just in time to see the great beast launch himself into the air.

"_Aang_! Aang, _WAIT_!"

The boy barely heard past the rushing of wind in his ears. He turned, saw Iroh waving both arms frantically above his head, and gave the old man a cheerful grin.

"Bye!" He waved, and turned his attention back to the reigns, the smile still plastered on his face.

Iroh was such a nice man. He'd come to see them off, even though Aang was sure they'd find the library in no time and come back before Iroh left the Oasis. And if not, well, he _had_ said their paths would cross again. His voice had been absolutely certain, and Aang had recognized that certainty. He just hoped Iroh ran into Zuko before they did. Enemy or not, the exiled prince was just so grumpy.

Iroh watched helplessly as the bison shrank into the distance. The only passenger facing backwards was Toph. Sokka was conversing with the Professor, Katara scooted forward to say something to Aang. He had no way to attract their attention- a fireball would do the trick, certainly, but it was too risky. He stared after them.

_Maybe they won't find it. Maybe the Spirits hid it completely after that murderous fool used the knowledge stored there for such a terrible purpose._

Dread settled in Iroh's gut. He couldn't say how, but he _knew_ the small band of friends would find what they were looking for. And he knew, just as certainly, that it would not go well.


	17. Chapter 16

Zuko recovered slowly. Hoshi made absolutely sure of that- on both counts. Yes, he needed to eat, regain his strength. Yes, he needed to heal, and rest. Most of all he needed _time_. So she took things slow. There was no rush, no deadline, and why risk a relapse?

They celebrated small victories along the way. The re-introduction of solid foods into his diet, for instance. Hoshi was a really good cook, even if the Earth Kingdom spices weren't familiar it was still absolute heaven compared to the scraps he'd been stealing on the run, the slop in Fong's dungeon, the bland yet salty goop on Master Pakku's ship, and the army swill he'd had to endure on Zhao's battle cruiser when Uncle couldn't smuggle him anything better.

Zuko decided he liked peanut sauce.

Every day Hoshi changed the bandage on his ankle, cleaning the wound and applying fresh salve with quick practiced strokes of her strong fingers. He still had limited mobility, but when the weather warmed up Hoshi decided as long as he didn't strain himself it would be therapeutic to spend time in the garden rather than in bed.

"Go soak in the sunlight, boy. Replenish that inner fire."

She helped him out the door, set him up on a bench against the wall, and then shushed Brighteyes out of the kitchen to keep him company. Spirits, she loved the girl, but she also needed to be able to _breathe_ on occasion.

Zuko leaned back into the wall and sighed. The mountain air held just a hint of chill, but the garden walls protected him from breezes and the touch of sunlight caressed his exposed skin and soaked through the robe to seep into his very bones.

He knew Hoshi kept a garden beyond the kitchen door, but he hadn't expected it be a veritable paradise, even with the plants just beginning to bud. He let his eyes travel over the unfamiliar stalks and vines, pausing at those he recognized.

"It's pretty, huh."

"Yeah," he agreed. Brighteyes now sported a conspicuous patch on the knee of her pants, rapidly fading under the abuse of her childish antics. She plopped bonelessly to the ground. Odd that she could be so graceful one moment, and a walking disaster the next.

"You have to be careful, though. Even the prettiest things can be dangerous. You see those stalks?" He nodded. "That's Foxglove. The flowers are lovely colored bells, and it's good for the heart in _very_ small doses. Too much is deadly. Hoshi says the key to balance is keeping things in the right proportions to each other."

"Hoshi's a scary lady."

Brighteyes giggled. "She's just smart. She's gonna make me smart, too."

Zuko flicked his eyes away for a moment, noticing the niche in the wall, and the burned stumps of incense rising above the rim of the bowl. Brighteyes followed his gaze.

"That's Guan Yin, she who hears the cries of the world. She's the goddess of mercy and compassion."

"I guess that explains why I don't recognize her."

Mercy was not a virtue in his father's eyes, any more than it had been for his grandfather or great-grandfather. Any and all shrines to the patron of such "weakness" would have been removed long ago, if they ever existed in his homeland.

Brighteyes looked into his face and he smiled bitterly.

"Would you like to hear her story?" she asked softly. "I know lots of stories."

When Zuko didn't refuse she took a deep breath and began.

"Once, a long time ago, there was a beautiful girl named Miao Shan…"

***

The link was gone. _He_ was gone. No more innocent little boy. No more playful Airbender. No more Aang.

He couldn't think, only feel. Rage, pain and rage filled his soul. It bore him up, up beyond the limits of his physical body, this pathetic shell of humanity. Ice cold, white-hot agony- _nonononoPain_- he couldn't see the boy's face behind the wrappings (Gashuin what have you done?!)- _angerpainangerragerageRage_- couldn't hear his companions screaming (Just get out of here. Run!) There was too much inside, too much and it had to come out- he couldn't hold on, couldn't hold back. It hurt, it hurt and he wanted revenge, he wanted to take the pain and turn it back upon whoever had made him hurt this much- _let go give in let go give in let go_- they would PAY for what they had done, he would destroy them, DESTROY-

The slightest touch on his wrist, her fingers cool against his blistering skin. She held on, and pulled him down to earth.

***

Listening to Brighteyes tell stories, Zuko found, was strangely similar to listening to a stream or fountain. If you paid attention it was calming, a hypnotic rhythm that soothed away stress and unease. You didn't really have to pay attention, though, because if you let your mind wander and then came back, it was basically more of the same, a continuation of that relaxing phenomenon.

Brighteyes didn't seem to mind his wavering attention- he was a more or less captive audience (she would probably be telling the stories to keep herself company anyways) and besides, he needed the rest. He listened and daydreamed. Soaked in the warmth of the sunlight. Sometimes he dozed, lulled to sleep by that gentle touch of light and the girl's soft voice.

"… koocha koocha, which is a fine ticklish sound to make. Now the girl, whose name happened to be Maru-me, giggled and casually lowered her arm over Forever Mountain's hand. He laughed with the joke, but when he tried to pull away the great and terrible Earthbending champion discovered that he couldn't…"

Zuko found himself smiling slightly at the mental image of a tall, muscular man bested by a slight teenage girl and forced to walk with her all the way up the mountain to meet her mother and grandmother…

Brighteyes knew a lot of stories, and while he occasionally recognized plot elements, a lot of the time they were entirely unfamiliar. Li Chi the Serpent Slayer, Toda the Archer, Sister Lace, the Monkey King…. Unsurprisingly given her age and temperament, Brighteyes favored adventure over romance, which was perfectly fine by him. He was slightly surprised by how dark some of them were, but this latest tale stayed upbeat and humorous throughout, ending in a farcical Bending battle to entertain the Emperor of Taku.

"Did Hoshi tell you that one?"

"Uh huh. She grew up near Taku, you know. Only it's not there anymore."

"Nothing's there anymore, really. Well, there's the Pohuai Stronghold to guard the harbor, but no real cities."

"You've been there?"

"Just passing through."

***

Appa was gone. It made Toph sick to her stomach. So she hadn't been that fond of flying- so what? The queasiness she had experienced in flight was nothing compared to what she felt now. She missed the big lunk. Even more than that, she was worried about Aang. He was the first real friend in her entire life (well, first human friend, anyway) and no sooner had she made that point abundantly clear with her promise to never lose him, than circumstances had conspired to make her break her word.

She, Toph Bei Fong, the Blind Bandit, Master of Earth and Earth Rumble Champion, had been less than useless in the desert sand, reduced to a tiny child clinging desperately to Katara's hand and simply stumbling onward…

_I guess that's why they call it "blind trust, huh?_

Honestly, Toph had been relieved when Katara took charge. Sokka simply waved it off later (yeah, she gets bossy like that sometimes) but Toph respected her a lot more now. Although in Toph's opinion, she'd been a little too forgiving of the Sandbender thief.

_He's already terrified, Toph. People do desperate things, and he's trying to make up for it by helping us find Appa back. _

Tch. The boy knew almost nothing about the merchants he had traded with, and surprisingly enough "They could be halfway to Ba Sing Se by now" did not soothe anyone's anxiety, least of all Aang's.

They still had a ways to go before they were out of the desert, and Toph was sick of the muffled vibrations teasing her brain with almost-comprehensible whispers. She stood, brushed off her pants, and set off, swinging Aang's glider- staff before her. She had promised not to break it, and as long as she "needed" it to get around he couldn't disappear on them again.

Despite the general depression that had settled over the group, Toph grinned dangerously. There was simply no point sitting around and moping- she refused to be helpless. If Gashuin the boy moron truly wanted to make amends, he was going to have to do more than just stutter apologies he didn't really mean.

Oh, he said he was sorry, but even in the shifting dunes she could tell his heart wasn't in it, the fool was simply scared and scrambling to cover his own butt. He wasn't sorry now, but he would be.

He would make it up to them, and Toph knew exactly how. She refused to be bested by miniscule pebbles. She would own the sneaky coward. She would own the sands.

_I am the greatest Earthbender in the world._

Her grin widened as she imagined the possibilities…

***

"More lessons?"

"Mmmhmmm. Hoshi says I need to work on reading and writing for a while. Basic calligraphy and stuff."

"Doesn't sound too strenuous- think she'll let me help?"

Brighteyes scooted over to make room. She had written her own name (well, nickname) to practice the shapes. At the very bottom, she had scrawled "Shen".

"I got bored doing mine."

"Try it again with my actual name, you'll get more practice that way."

She hesitated a moment, smooshed the brush against the ink-stone, and scrawled out two new characters.

"That's not right," he said flatly, and Brighteyes looked up, startled by his tone. She'd never seen him angry before. It was a very strange sight- his lips thinned to nothing and his eyes narrowed to mere slits. He looked like a snake- no, she quickly amended- he looked like a _dragon_.

"That's what is said on the notice…"

"Well it's wrong. You really think my mom would name me "enemy of the parent?" he glowered. "They wrote it wrong on purpose."

"Oh."

Just that one little word, and suddenly he understood why she was so reluctant to use his given name. Without comment, Zuko swiped the brush across the ink-stone and wrote out the proper characters in swift practiced strokes.

"That's what it's _supposed_ to look like."

Brighteyes peered intently at the flawless writing. He made it look so easy… Shaking away the momentary envy (well of course he was better. He was older and had a lot more practice) she placed one finger just below the first character. Her eyes narrowed, and the tip of her tongue protruded out of the corner of her mouth.

"That one means… revive?"

He nodded, and she moved on to the second mark. That one was trickier.

"Uh, is this one supposed to be study or family?"

"Family."

"That doesn't make a lot of sense."

"No? The trick with reading is that it isn't enough to see the words and string them together. You have to understand that the message is more than just a sum of words."

"So, what's it mean?"

"Oh come on. I'm not just going to give you all the answers, you know. You have to put some effort in if you want to get anything out of it."

"_I_ know that." She turned back to the marks on the page, forehead crinkled in concentration. "More than a sum. These words put together _sound_ like your name, but sound is different from meaning. If you put them together…" Her face suddenly relaxed. "Oh. It means "Lucky to be born", doesn't it? Something happened and you almost didn't…"

"That's a good guess."

"I got it right?"

"Well, sometimes I think Mom just liked how it sounded."

She considered that for a while, and then asked softly, "You wanna know my real name?"

He didn't hesitate to answer, so she learned over and whispered in his ear.

***

_AppawasgoneAppawasgoneAppwasgoneAppawasgoneAppawasgoneAppawasgoneAppaAppaAppaAppaAppaAppaAppaAppaAppa._

"Aang, you need to eat something. We'll find him."

_Gone…_

***

"GRACE!?"

Brighteyes was off on an errand, and Hoshi wondered briefly how much effort it took to hold back the outburst until the little girl was out of earshot. "_That_ child is named _Grace_?!"

"Is there something wrong, Zuko?"

"That-… why?"

"I didn't name her Ting or Xie or Nuo, Zuko. I named her Ze. _Grace_, not graceful."

"Why?"

"Because she was the only survivor."

He froze instantly, as she had known he would.

"The war?" he asked quietly, dreading the answer. Hoshi closed her eyes briefly.

"Does it matter how her parents died? Really?"

"Doesn't it?"

"Not to her. She never knew them, Zuko. She was too young to remember. I am the only guardian she has ever known."

"But-"

"Let it go, boy."

He limped away, and Hoshi sighed.

Of all the possible causes of death- accident, simple jealous murder, highway bandits, enemy attack- he had immediately feared his own people were responsible. Curious, that.

Later she realized Brighteyes had switched from calling him "Shen" exclusively to using the boy's proper and nicknames interchangeably and sometimes combined. She wondered if the events were related.

***

It wasn't the first time Katara had gotten mad at her brother. She'd been upset when he wanted to go with dad (we need you _here_, Sokka!) and of course there was the argument that had resulted in discovering Aang that started as a simple sibling spat and ended with emotionally charged Waterbending strong enough to rend an iceberg into itty-bitty pieces.

She had fights with other people as well. Who could forget her epic showdown with Pakku? True, technically she had lost, but the North Pole had been buzzing for days afterward. (Did you see that girl fight? Even untrained, she cracked open the floor in the Great Hall. That ice is ten feet thick! Not to mention, she almost took Master Pakku's head off with a razor-sharp disk. I've never seen anyone Bend like that before. I don't care _what_ tradition dictates- that's impressive.)

Oh yes, Sokka was quite aware what his sister was capable of when cross. The fact that they were stranded in arid desert with only a limited supply of water at her disposal did little to comfort him. Sure, Katara was a freakishly powerful Waterbender, but as her brother he knew her real weapon was her tongue.

"I hope you're proud of yourself, Sokka."

The opening volley- he braced himself for the inevitable.

"I can't _believe_ you. We had everything going for us, and you thought it would be a better idea to go out into the middle of nowhere to find some mystical library when we had a walking store of information _right there with us_. You want a map of the Fire Nation? You could have just asked Iroh. But no. You had to find _outside sources_. You didn't even bother to talk to him first! All you had to do was wait, Sokka. Even one more day, that's all. We had a good thing going, better than usual. You call yourself a realist and a pragmatist, but then you dragged us all into this stupid scheme… I could understand getting help from the library. I agreed, remember? I do not recall you ever telling anyone that you planned to dupe the knowledge spirit. _Knowledge_ spirit, Sokka! He who _knows things_. Do you remember what happened at the North Pole? Angering the spirits is not a good idea. What if you've turned the whole spirit world against Aang? You made him lie-"

"He hardly protested-"

"Shut up, Sokka! You're older than he is, you're supposed to be a positive influence! Instead, you've managed to screw up everything. We almost died out there! How could you be so careless? Hey, there's a plant, I think I'll drink the mysterious fluid inside."

"That was a perfectly logical-"

"Logical? It could have been _poison_, Sokka. You could have died instead of seeing pretty pictures. Not to mention, if you had given me a moment to think instead of rushing into things like you always do, I could have pulled pure water out of that cactus! _Water_, not hallucinogenic juice! You took yourself out of commission and left me to pick up the pieces. Now I know a lot of things could have turned out differently, but they didn't. I just want to make sure you understand that everything that's gone wrong since we left the Oasis is your fault."

"Hey, that's not fa-"

"_Your fault_, Sokka. It's all because of your stupid macho pride! You want to be the leader? Then you damn well better start ACTING LIKE ONE!"

"I'm TRYING!"

"_Try. Harder_," she hissed.

The worst part was, he couldn't even blame her. She was absolutely right.

***

There was a name for large, wooden bathtubs like Hoshi's- _ofuro_. Zuko leaned back and decided 'heaven' was more appropriate. He'd ceased to be surprised by Hoshi's methods- she seemed to know every medical technique he had ever heard of and a few he hadn't, but suggesting he take a long soak in hot water to relax atrophied muscles was just pure old person logic.

If he had realized how effective it was he might not have yelled quite so forcefully at Uncle when he suggested the same thing months back. Of course, then they _both_ might have been caught by Earthbenders…with their pants down.

He sighed, inhaled deeply through his nose, and submerged. There was a distinct difference between simply being clean and taking a bath, and that difference was _immersion_. He stayed under, relaxed in the embrace of warm water, until distorted thuds echoed in his ears. He came up sputtering.

"What?"

"Just checking to make sure you hadn't drowned on me."

"'M fine." Next thing he knew, she'd be telling him it was unhealthy to sit in a cold bathtub. Like that was a problem for him.

"Quit heating the water. Extended submersion isn't good for your skin."

Not quite what he was expecting. "Uh, I'm pretty much missing half my face already. I don't think acne is much of an issue."

She chuckled on the other side of the door. "It's not so much a matter of pimples as it is a matter of your skin falling off."

Moments later startled gold eyes met her gaze as he slammed the door open, dripping wet and clutching a towel around his bony hips.

"Finally staring to fill in again. That's good."

He stared at her.

"Relax. You're fine."

"Falling off?"

"That takes hours."

"You are a horrible old witch."

"So I hear."

***

"Katara?"

She could hear Sokka calling her softly, but she didn't want to talk to him. Not yet, anyway. They were finally out of the desert, but she wasn't sure Aang even noticed. He had brightened slightly when Toph showed off her new skills, then faded again. The only time he showed interest in anything around him was if they shoved it in his face.

Katara had been trained to deal with _physical_ injuries, and while she knew he was hurting she couldn't do anything to help. You couldn't use Waterbending to fix a broken heart, and Aang was heartbroken.

"Come one, sis. I need to talk to you. I wouldn't corner you like this, but you've been avoiding me for days. Now that it's just the four of us again, you can't keep doing that."

"Five. You forgot Momo. And it should be six of us."

"I know. And- I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have yelled like that."

"You didn't say anything that wasn't true. The fact is, I don't really know _how_ to be the leader. I know I messed up, okay? We had a really amazing opportunity and I blew it. You were wrong about why, though. It's not because of pride."

"Oh really?" Katara raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"Yes, really. It's not an ego thing, Katara. It's a big brother thing. I was trying to be careful, and keep my promise to dad that I'd protect you."

"Sokka, we had more reason to trust Iroh than Professor Zei. You can't keep judging people by their origins."

"I know. I stopped Jet from killing that old man, remember? And then the whole town? It's just easier to believe we'd get help from someone on our side."

"Iroh is on our side."

"I guess…" He flopped down beside her and leaned back, hands laced behind his head. "It would just be so much easier if this whole battle of good vs. evil gig was more-"

"Black and white?"

"Yeah. I meant what I said though. I am trying to figure this out, make it work. It's just- back home I knew what the dangers _were_, and anymore I'm just- not sure. I'm just trying to look out for you. All of you. And I'm sorry about what happened. I didn't mean to, but I pretty much abandoned you when you needed me most."

"You could say that. To be completely honest, realizing I could have pulled the water out of the cactus happened a lot later."

"You probably would have figured it out sooner if I wasn't…" his voice trailed off as he tried to find an adequate explanation for the experience.

"Off having a happy trip in your head?" she supplied.

Sokka sighed. "Yeah."

"Well, on the bright side, at least it was a _good_ head trip."

"You're an incurable optimist, aren't you?"

"Better believe it." Her tone belied the words, however, and he turned to face her with concern.

"Katara?"

"Mmmhmm?"

"We're good now, right?"

"Yup."

"Then what's bothering you?"

Her mouth went tight, and she stared straight forward.

"Katara?"

She sniffed, and tears brimmed at the edge of her eyes but her voice stayed clear.

"Back at the Oasis, Aang was feeling kind of down. All this responsibility; he has the weight of the world on his shoulders. I wish he could just stay a kid, but I know it's impossible. Even if there weren't a war, he'd still have to grow up… We didn't mean to exclude you, but you were sleeping, and Toph, Aang and I kind of reached an unspoken agreement to stand by each other, and not let him lose himself in all of this."

"Sounds like a good idea. Count me in."

"That's just it, though. We promised and then- all this…" Her voice lowered to a whisper. "I'm scared, Sokka. We're losing him. We promised we wouldn't, but we're losing him."

"Not gonna happen." He reached over and wrapped his arms around her, drawing her to his shoulder. "We'll get through this. We'll find Appa-"

"What if we don't?"

"Then we'll deal with it. We'll figure it out somehow. We always do." _We have to._

"Katara?"

"Yeah?"

"I know I probably have no right to say this, since I screwed up, but I'm still your big brother and I just have to say, what you did back in the desert, holding everyone together…I'm proud of you."

She snuggled into his shoulder and nodded. He was solid, dependable. He wouldn't abandon them again. She closed her eyes and felt her body relax another fraction. Her brother could be an idiot sometimes, but he always kept his promises. They'd be okay.

"Sokka?"

"Mmmhmm?"

"Are you sure it wasn't about your ego?"

"Well… maybe just a little."

***

Hoshi had hoped that despite Zuko's marked physical improvement the demons in his head would stay dormant. No such luck. With the return of his strength came the inevitable; now that he had gained distance from the trauma that had nearly taken his life along with his sanity, those same experiences crept back to torment the boy's sleeping mind. He didn't wake up screaming in the middle of the night, but part of her wished he did. Surely such an obvious sign would compel him to try and _do_ something. Instead, being Zuko, he simply took it. She resigned herself to the situation. It wasn't pleasant but there they were.

If only he trusted her enough to open up, let her help him deal with the nightmares- but, well, trust was the heart of the problem.

Zuko during waking hours was a completely different story. He was calm, in control. When she explained the various treatments to her apprentice, he listened as well. He was patient with Brighteyes, and her calligraphy showed marked improvement, although her reading skills remained slow. He even seemed to self-censor his language around the child, although he slipped up occasionally. On the whole, he seemed to be recovering spectacularly.

Which was why it caught her completely off guard when she found him slumped in the middle of the kitchen on the verge of breaking down.

The day had progressed fairly routinely up to that point, up to and including Brighteyes, in her normal absentminded way, placing her palm flat against the side of the tea kettle- before it had a chance to cool.

Hoshi had taken her to into the clinic to treat the burn and returned to the kitchen to discover Zuko collapsed on the floor. His eyes were bright and staring, his breath came in short gasps, but he was not crying. Almost, but not quite. As he had at their first meeting, he hovered at the edge, unable to breach the gap that would bring emotional release.

She fell to her knees and grabbed his shoulders, turning his body to face her. He didn't look up.

"Zuko?"

"I – I- nuh- didn't-sorry-didn't mean- too late."

"Look at me, look at me."

"No. No, wrong. Bad. Not- not supposed to. All wrong. I- (huhn) sorry. So sorry."

"Shhhh. Look at me."

He glanced up, his face unguarded and fearful.

"I'm sorry…"

"For what?"

"Brighteyes- got- burned…"

She hugged him tight. "You think I would blame you for that? It wasn't your fault."

"It's- always- my- fault."

Hoshi briefly thanked the decades of experience that let her keep her face unreadable as cold fury washed through her. While a number of people and factions had left their mark on the boy (some more visibly than others) she knew without a doubt that this particular reaction stemmed from a very specific source. She was a fool for thinking a man as twisted as Ozai would limit himself to physical abuse.

"This wasn't."

"It's always…"

"No. Not this. Brighteyes just- doesn't pay attention sometimes. Why do you think I'm teaching her medicine, huh? It's because I won't always be around to patch her up. So I'm teaching her what she needs to take care of herself when I'm gone. If she decides to help other people with it, so much the better." She stroked his hair away from his face. "It's not your fault."

"No, it is. It's always- I hurt people. I don't mean to, I just- I can't hold back. Things fall apart, everything goes to hell… Because of me…"

"Says who?"

"Everybody." He was still wavering, but he had regained enough of himself to realize she wouldn't let him get away with such a vague answer. "Father. Even Mom sometimes. Azula always blamed me (_and everyone believed her_)… later there were more. On the ship Katara said, she said (_she said I was responsible for her mother's death and all the hate in the world_) it doesn't matter- I-"

"Zuko, we all do things we regret. That's human nature- people make mistakes sometimes. It's okay." Hoshi closed her eyes briefly against a flash of memory, still fresh and painful decades after the event. _A face, deathly pale against the red uniform. Delicate features, pale gold eyes already turning milky in death. She never knew the names of those enemy soldiers, and the men's faces faded from her mind, but the woman's remained. The sight was etched into her, forever._

"Can you do something for me, Zuko? I know there are things in your past you aren't proud of, that only you can come to grips with, but this, what happened just now, had _absolutely nothing to do with you_. Understand? You are _not_ responsible. Say it."

"What?"

"It's not your fault Brighteyes got hurt. Say it."

"I- it's not- my fault."

Later, she would dose his tea to keep the demons at bay. Later, she would corner Haku so she could rant at length in his kitchen about gods-forsaken bastards, child abuse, and emotional scarring that might never heal. About the kind of heartless monster that would use his own child as a scapegoat and the kind of child who would accept that function. For the moment she simply held him, and wished she could just reach into his head to heal him from the inside out, wished it wouldn't hurt him even more to violate his fragile boundaries instead of waiting for an invitation that he might never be able to offer.

***

"Toph?"

"What's up, Sweetness?"

"I talked to Sokka. He agrees that we need to do something about Aang."

"Well duh. We'd be pretty terrible friends if we just let him wallow in despair for much longer. I mean- I get that he's upset, but this is just extreme. He's acting like we've already lost."

"I know what you mean. Sokka threw some ideas around, but even he didn't think they were worth exploring."

"Well at least he's bothering to use his brain again."

"I don't suppose you have any brilliant suggestions?"

"To be perfectly honest, I don't have much experience with the whole "friends" deal, but I'll try. Sokka is trying to out-think the problem because he's the idea guy. You've been- well, not _avoiding_ the issue, exactly, but kind of deflecting it. It's probably a Waterbender thing."

"It's also a Waterbender thing to absorb and redirect…" Katara mused. "Maybe I should talk to him."

"Not so fast. You only have two settings, Katara. One is sugar, the other is scathing. While I agree we need to confront the issue, neither of those options particularly appeal to me."

"Well, I understand it wouldn't be a good idea to scold him, but what's wrong with sympathy?"

"What part of "confront the issue" did you not understand?"

"Oh, I get it. The Master Earthbender wants to attack this head on."

"Exactly. Aang is reacting in the way that feels most natural to him."

"Like an Airbender, you mean."

"Yup. If we want to get his attention, we're going to have to present him with what feels most un-natural. Now, he _is_ an Earthbender, but it's still his opposing element and he doesn't always know how to deal with it."

"Alright. I follow you so far, but- if water isn't right because it's either too harsh or too soft, but what exactly does that make earth?"

"Blunt."

Katara blinked. It made sense, but it was also just so typical that Toph would find a solution where everything went _her_ way.

"Hold that thought, Toph. I'm going to grab Sokka and see if he has anything to add. This is going to take all three of us."

"Yeah, you two had _better_ back me up."

***

"Let's go see Jiro"

"Huh?"

"Hoshi says you're strong enough to walk around now. You're barely limping anymore, and you need to start rebuilding muscle mass."

Hoshi had said as much the previous day. The thick scab around his ankle had healed into a wide pink scar. The old woman had determined that the joint itself was sound, but the muscles and tendons needed special attention to ensure he would regain full mobility.

This meant hours laying in bed or sitting in a chair while Hoshi manipulated his ankle to its full range of motion, kneaded ointments into his skin with a force he was sure would leave bruises but didn't, or poked him with impossibly thin needles in incomprehensible patterns. Even remembering Ty Lee's odd fascination with pressure points and Katara's explanation of Water Tribe healing methods, it was difficult to understand how sticking a piece of metal in his ear could fix his leg.

Even more disconcerting was the fact that Hoshi had no qualms using him as a live demonstration for her young pupil. Zuko didn't really mind, but Brighteyes had this habit of discarding her usual speech patterns for clinical descriptions at odd moments. He was, she reminded him, as much _her_ patient as Hoshi's (because she was one who had found him initially) and she was simply deferring to Hoshi's superior experience to treat him.

"Do you have any idea how creepy it is when you start sounding like her?"

"Whadda ya mean?"

"Nevermind."

It would be good to move around, and Zuko wasn't completely averse to the idea of talking a walk. It was just, well, he hadn't interacted with anyone beyond Hoshi and Brighteyes since his impulsive visit to Elder Haku. True, the villagers seemed to have warmed up quite a bit, (there had been several boxes after the first, not all anonymous) but he didn't exactly relish the prospect of dealing with them face to face. What was he supposed to do, make small talk? About what?

He shook his head. Conversation wasn't really his strong point. Fortunately no one thought anything of it as they crossed the square and continued down to the smithy. Zuko recognized the building by scent before they reached it: the smell of scorched iron and smoke permeated the stout timber structure. Three walls surrounded a forge, anvil, and thick wooden worktables. The fourth wall folded away completely to provide light and ventilation. Jiro glanced up and wiped his hands across his scorched apron, a broad easy smile stretching across his weathered face.

"Hey, la. You break another halter for that beast, or is this a social call?"

"Social."

Jiro nodded and beckoned them in.

"Well, in that case you don't have to pump the bellows unless you want to." He gave Zuko an appraising gaze and nodded. "You're looking better. For both of your sakes I'll assume Hoshi's given the go ahead for you to be up and about?"

Brighteyes rolled her eyes. "Don't be silly. He's sick of being cooped up in the house. Aren't you?"

Zuko shrugged.

"Right, then. I assume I don't need to give you my safety lecture, do I? No, a Firebender would know to be careful. You seem to know a bit about smithing already…"

"Not really. I spent two and a half years on a coal-driven ship. There's not a huge difference between a furnace and a forge."

"They serve a totally different purpose, but yeah. Still, you seem pretty comfortable. "

Zuko shrugged again, then stopped. There was something familiar about the layout of the workshop.

"I think- no. I remember a space like this. My uncle took me to see a friend of his, a long time ago. Not a blacksmith- he- made swords, I think."

"A weapons-smith, then. They work with steel, not so much straight iron."

"Yeah, I guess." Now that the memory had resurfaced, Zuko didn't know how to deal with it. There was a reason he had pushed it to the back of his mind for years. It hasn't an unhappy memory, far from it. He had spent a very enjoyable trip with Uncle and Lu Ten...

_You are not a child any longer, Prince Zuko. You are the Crown Prince and my Heir. You will conduct yourself accordingly._

Zuko tore himself away from his thoughts, watching the sparks spiral from the forge, watching the dark iron bars turn orange from the heat. Jiro struck with precision as much as force, flattening and twisting the metal. Thin sheets flaked off under the hammer, tiny orange leaves that darkened to black and fluttered away.

_Tink._

_Tink._

_Tink t-t-t-tap._

Brighteyes took a turn on the bellows and the flames roared. The scent of iron strengthened. Zuko narrowed his eyes. He didn't want to think, or move, or remember. Jiro seemed content to let him watch, and not try to coax him into further conversation. Or maybe he was simply lost in his work.

When Brighteyes finally grabbed Zuko's arm to get his attention, he nearly jumped at her touch. The stack of unshaped iron was gone, transformed from base metal into useful objects. Hooks, rings, buckles. He must have been standing for hours, mesmerized by the flames and the hypnotic not- quite- a rhythm of Jiro's hammer. She led him away, turning to wave cheerfully as Jiro called after them to come back anytime. Zuko managed a polite nod.

He let his body walk back without any real thought, his mind otherwise occupied. He didn't notice they had attracted any kind of attention until Brighteyes stopped short and he almost walked into her.

"What do you want, Hong."

Zuko blinked. He'd heard that tone of voice before, muffled by the thickness of a wall. Hauling his mind back to the present, he noticed in a rather detached way that one-they were almost home, and two- they were surrounded.

The teen blocking their path was just as ugly and acne-ridden as Brighteyes' nickname for him suggested. On top of that, he was big. Taller than Zuko by a full head at least, with the additional reach such height inevitably bestowed. Zuko probably should have been worried, but he wasn't. Instead, he hoped the clothes hanging off his still thin frame hadn't once belonged to any of the brute's friends. With that build, he was relieved to think, they certainly hadn't been his.

"You don't belong here fire-freak."

_I don't belong anywhere._

Brighteyes narrowed her eyes and took a defensive stance.

"Don't make me kick your butt again, Craterface."

"You stay out of this. It's not a matter that concerns children."

_And I suppose you think you're a grown man?_

Zuko knew Brighteyes wouldn't back down just because some bully got in her face. Gently but firmly he placed one hand on her shoulder and pulled back. She looked startled for a moment, but before she could react he bent down and whispered, "Just watch."

Misinterpreting Zuko's protective gesture and unable to hear the not so subtle clue that he had the situation in hand, Hong attacked.

Or rather, he started to. It was an even more pathetic attempt than Sokka's reckless forward charge way back in the South Pole. In one fluid motion, Zuko shifted his weight onto his right leg, stepped behind the taller boy with his left, placed one palm against Hong's shoulder and _shoved._

Hong fell on his back, winded and stunned.

For a startled moment, no one moved. Hong stared up in absolute shock at the scarred, impassive face above him. Zuko shifted his feet so he was standing straight again and folded his arms over his chest.

"Idiot," he grated. "You didn't _really_ think I'd make an easy target, did you?"

Attempting to salvage any kind of control over the situation, one of the boys sputtered, "You're outnumbered."

"So?"

_I've been trained in combat since I was four. I have battled Earthbenders, Firebenders, and Waterbenders- masters of their element. You're all just boys playing at feeling bigger than you really are. Somehow I doubt any of you have what it takes to bring me down, even injured._

They looked to their fallen leader for guidance, but he was still fighting to regain his breath and couldn't talk.

Zuko snorted. "Move."

They moved.

Safe behind Hoshi's door, Brighteyes dissolved into laughter.

"Did you see his _face_? That was priceless! You have to teach me to do that."

"Teach you to do what?" Hoshi asked, rounding the corner from the kitchen.

Zuko ducked his head.

"I took Zuko-shen to see Jiro, and we ran into the dumb boys on the way back. He took care of it, though. Just _wham_! So fast. I wanna learn."

Hoshi gave him a searching glance. "Do I need to track down Haku and run damage control before all the neighbors gather at the door with pitchforks?"

Zuko shrugged. "He attacked. I only winded the moron."

"Yeah." Brighteyes chirped. "They totally started it. Stupid bullies picking on a little kid and an invalid. Serves them right."

"In that case, I suppose you're in the clear." She probably ought to find Haku anyway. "However, there will not be any combat lessons without my prior approval. Understood? You," and she pointed a finger at Zuko, "are still recovering. I want that ankle to heal properly. You," and her finger switched to Brighteyes, "have other studies to attend to. Those come first."

"Oh all right."

Hoshi's expression softened. "I'm glad you're both okay."

Brighteyes grinned. "Yeah, I didn't even get a scratch this time!"

Zuko turned to her with narrowed eyes. "This time?"

"How'd you think I skinned my knee?"

He felt his hands clench into fists and wondered just how often the little girl had gone head to head with the Hong and his fellow idiots. True, she didn't seem to have suffered any great harm from such confrontations, which spoke to the boys' incompetence but didn't belittle her courage. Still, that wasn't the point.

Hoshi grabbed his arm. "Don't even think about it, boy. You go _looking_ for trouble, it's on your head."

He sighed.

"Right. I'll behave." He forced his hands open.

"Go sit down, I need to check your ankle. You've been up and about all day. That's going to have an effect. Did you notice anything, when you were walking or kicking Hong's butt?"

"It feels a little wobbly, but it doesn't hurt."

"That's a very good sign. Don't push it."

Later that night, after relaying the incident to Haku, Hoshi thought back on the day's events and allowed herself a slight smile. Yes, there were setbacks. Yes, there were scars Zuko barely acknowledged, but he was making so much progress. He wasn't afraid to stick his neck out in someone else's defense, despite everything he had suffered. He was utterly indignant that a teenager would pick on a child less than half his own size. Despite that he had limited his response to bare knuckles, and barely that, when she knew he possessed a quick temper and the Firebending abilities to back it up. She had no misgivings about helping him. None at all. With all that had happened to him he could very easily have turned into a lost cause, but he hadn't. Far from it.

She was proud of that achievement.

Hoshi hummed softly as she removed the pins from her hair and set them on the counter. He adapted so easily, it was almost as if there were already Hoshi and Brighteyes shaped spaces in his personality. Like all he needed was a stable family, even a patchwork one. An old healer who had seen too much, a young, optimistic orphan, and a scarred banished prince. Some family.

_Since when is he family and not your patient, hmmm?_

Hoshi dropped the brush she was holding with a soft clunk. She closed her eyes. The voice might be her own inner critic, but it always sounded like her mentor, an echo from long ago.

_You must be totally open. You must be willing to give whatever your patient needs, up to and including your self. You must give, but not become attached. Heal them, help them back on their own feet, and let go._

She opened her eyes and gazed at her reflection. Steel grey hair fell in loose waves around her face, framing the blunt features of a woman once called striking but never beautiful. Love had always been her greatest weakness.

_Daft old woman_, her reflection scolded. _You know you can't keep him._


	18. Chapter 17

Appa was gone. The world felt unreal, like the sky seen through deep water. Aang might as well have been sleepwalking. He was tired all the time, but he couldn't rest. He wasn't hungry. He didn't want to move. A small part in the back of his head kept yelling that Appa was missing, not dead, that he needed to get up and keep going and get him back, but it was a very small voice and he was so very tired. He wasn't sure if he believed it anyway. The world was an awfully big place, and they had only a general idea of where to _start_ looking.

It felt like a piece had been ripped out of his soul, like he was slowly bleeding to death internally and no one could see it or do anything about it. They didn't understand. He loved his friends dearly but they didn't understand. Appa was all he had left. Aang didn't know how to get by without him.

He turned over on his side, clutching the bison whistle to his chest. The night was warm, but he shivered.

_Where are you? What did they do to you? _

He didn't feel the footsteps, so he jumped when a voice sounded above him.

"You are aware that when you don't sleep, I can feel it, and I can't sleep either."

"Sorry Toph." He lifted his hand then stopped. She couldn't see the tears on his face, but she'd be able to tell if he wiped them away.

"Yeah you are sorry. Sorry and sad. And I've had just about enough of it. You're not going to get Appa back sitting here crying, or feeling angry, or whatever reaction you feel like pulling out of your pants next."

"So what do you expect me to do? Just ignore the pain? Thanks a lot, Toph."

"What I expect, _Earthbending student_, is for you to focus. You want Appa back? Whoever has him probably won't just hand him over. You'll have to fight for him. Right now, you're not doing that."

Toph was making no effort to keep her voice down, and Aang saw Katara had already risen and Sokka was wiping his eyes blearily.

"Great, Toph. You woke everybody up."

Katara knelt down beside him, her face composed but serious.

"Actually, we were going to talk to you tomorrow anyway. Toph moved ahead of schedule."

Toph shrugged. "I didn't feel like waiting, because honestly, it doesn't make a difference to me whether is the sun is out or not."

Sokka glared holes in her back. "It makes a difference to _me_."

"Yeah yeah, Snoozles. You can catch up on your beauty rest later. Get your butt over here."

He muttered uncomplimentary remarks under his breath but obeyed the command. Aang pulled his knees up against his chest and hugged them, wondering why it felt like the whole world had turned against him. He sniffed.

"Why are you doing this?"

Katara laid a hand on his arm, so gently. Her hands were always gentle, always had been.

"Doing what, Sweetie?"

"Ganging up on me."

Her hand stilled. "Oh, Aang," she breathed. "We're trying to help. You know that."

"By telling me I should forget Appa?!"

Katara's face hardened. "No one said that, Aang. Don't put words in our mouths. Don't you dare."

"Maybe you didn't say it in so many words, but it's what you're all thinking. You don't care. You just need me _functional_ again. You don't understand how much this hurts. How could you possibly understand? He's just an animal to you. But to me, he's not. He's my friend, even if he isn't human."

Toph snorted.

"What does being human have to do with it? My first friend was a Badgermole."

Sokka stared at her. "Wait, seriously?"

"Yep. That's how I learned to see with Earthbending. For them, it's not about fighting. It's their way of interacting with the world."

Despite himself, Aang was fascinated. Katara's hand tightened briefly, reassuringly. "See? Toph gets it. And Sokka and I grew up with a polar bear. You met him, remember?"

"He was a pet."

"To the grown ups, maybe. Besides, that's not the point."

Aang couldn't help snapping. "Then what is, huh? Why did you corner me like this? What do you _want_?!"

"We want to help, Aang. I know- _we _know- that you're hurting. And it hurts us to see that. We miss him too, you know."

Aang opened his mouth but before he could say anything Sokka added, "And not just because we're sick of walking. Really. Even if I don't quite understand your special bond, I can see how much the furry beast means to you."

"You're just saying that."

"No, Aang, I'm really not, but if you'd rather I smack you than offer sympathy-"

Katara shushed him with a glare and a whispered "_Watch it_".

"Look, Aang, I'm sorry it came to this, but we can't just sit by and watch you destroy yourself anymore. This isn't you."

"How would you know? You've only known me for a couple of months, Katara. Months. Toph even less. She's only here to get away from her over-controlling parents, you wanted to travel with me to find a Waterbending teacher for _yourself_, and I don't even know why Sokka came along."

"_Excuse_ me?" Aang winced at Toph's tone but he was too tired to be polite anymore. "If I all I wanted was to get away I could have just done that. I certainly didn't sign on this gig to get hunted by Fire Nation crazies and almost die in the middle of a desert because _someone_ abandoned us in a fit of self-absorbed revenge."

Sokka crossed his arms over his chest, and Aang couldn't help but notice that the physique Katara used to mock now boasted unmistakable muscle. "Not to mention the fact that Katara and I didn't bum along for the ride. We came to _save_ you, remember? We left all that remained of our tribe to help you, because despite the fact that you're acting like a brat right now you're pretty damn important."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm the Avatar, I have to save the world."

Sokka's eyes narrowed to slits.

"Screw. You."

That penetrated the fog. Aang felt his mouth drop slightly, and his eyes went big.

"So you're the Avatar. Big whoop. I don't care. In case you hadn't noticed, magic and spirits aren't really my cup of tea. And really, you shouldn't have to deal with this shit, but hey, if wishes were ostrich-horses, right? What I mean is, okay it's important, but your whole world saving destiny thing isn't the reason we're here. Got it?"

"Normally, I'd hate to agree with my brother, but he has a point. We aren't here to help the Avatar. We're here to help _you_. Even if you don't want it."

"I _don't_ want your help. I want Appa back!"

"We know. We get it, Aang."

"No, you don't. How could you- he's all I have _left_!"

"From before, you mean."

Aang crumbled. He couldn't pretend to be strong anymore, so he let Katara pull him into her arms and sobbed into her shoulder.

"They're all gone. All of them. I know it's been a hundred years for everyone else, but I miss them..."

"I know. We know."

_We're here for you. We promised, and we're here._

He felt her arms tighten across his back, strong thin fingers splayed over the curve of his shoulder blade. Then there were smaller hands (Toph) and larger ones (Sokka) holding him, and he sobbed freely. They didn't let go when he had cried himself out, gasping and spent but _so much lighter_.

The friends fell asleep like that and woke in a tangled heap with the sun already well into the sky. Sokka didn't mention the crick in his neck. Toph figured she could afford to wait one more day before whipping Aang into shape. Katara gently removed her hand from Aang's to break down camp, wondering when exactly her fingers had threaded into his and why it seemed like a perfectly natural fit.

***

It was official, Zuko decided. Hoshi was insane.

"It'll do you good", she said. No further explanation. He knew there was more than that. He had seen her reading the dark-bound book. The one Brighteyes wasn't allowed to touch and Zuko didn't want to. He'd been worried she was angry after all, but decided she was just distant lately. She was hiding something. Not that he could judge her for it. He just noticed.

When she sent him to see Jiro alone he figured it was just something to keep him occupied. Remove the temptation of- what, exactly? Turning the entire village against him? He'd reacted instinctively, but now that he'd cooled down he knew how dumb it would be to seek out the acne-scarred idiot. He was an intruder here, whatever anyone said, and he knew it.

He also knew that the villagers never threw anything away if they could help it. Self-sustaining community, conservation of resources- that was a given. It didn't stop his heart from jerking sideways when Jiro pulled an all-too familiar chunk of metal from the forge and placed it on the anvil. The stocky blacksmith pressed a hammer into his hands.

"Strike," he instructed.

Zuko struck.

Again and again and again and again until the iron cooled and Jiro placed it back in the flames. Only then did Zuko meet his eyes.

"What the hell are you playing at, anyway?"

"Not playing, kid. Hoshi would never play with anyone. She has too much respect for- how'd she say it? - the miracle of the human mind. Something like that. Anyway, she thought this might help."

"How?"

"Beats me. She explained, but I'm just a humble blacksmith. I don't understand half of what she talks about. Mental constructs, chi flow, behavioral patterns, defense mechanisms- what was the other one- emotional aversion, whatever that is. Doesn't mean a lot to me. Letting a teenage boy blow off steam beating the shit out of inanimate objects, that I get."

Zuko did not return his grin. He hated it when people did things "for his own good." What was it that made everyone older than he was think they knew what was best for him anyway? Meddling jerks. When Uncle did that it made him want to break things and set them on fire. Not Hoshi, though. Not _people_. Never people. Still…

_Break and burn._

Jiro reached into the flames and pulled out a red-hot twist of metal, contorted by Zuko's previous attempt at destruction but still recognizable as the shackle he had been unable to lose for so long.

"You know what to do."

_Break and burn_. Zuko's hands tightened on the hammer-shaft. His blood was in that metal, the iron from his body bonded to the iron from the earth.

Really, it wasn't so much break and burn as it was pound into oblivion, heat to malleability, and repeat, but close enough.

***

Things weren't okay. Toph wasn't sure they'd ever be okay, but they were better. Aang was progressing nicely in his lessons, and he hadn't tried to shut them out again. There was a near miss, but they hauled him back. They had set up a routine after that, talking about anything and everything, because she didn't see (ha ha) why they had to wait for some catastrophe to fall before sharing a heart to heart. Yeah, she enjoyed conflict (enjoyed obliterating the opposition, anyway) but bottling things up was just dumb. Better to let it out into the air.

Toph had lived two lives for years, one where she had to hide her true nature and one where she let that nature shine but had to hide her _identity_ instead. She was free of all that now, free to be herself for the first time ever. Liberation felt sweet sweet sweet. So she didn't hold back and couldn't understand why anyone would _want_ to.

Sokka wasn't very good at covering up his reactions. Katara was a little better (she called it "having tact") and Aang, well, Aang wasn't exactly his usual self these days so she'd leave off any judgment there. Still, even if everyone was trying to be actively open (Katara's idea, of course, to make Aang feel more comfortable opening up himself) there was tons of stuff that she'd missed out on (wait, the Fire Nation fleet was defeated by an angry _fish_?) and they acted like she should already know without bothering to tell her.

Toph left Aang meditating and walked back to camp, catching Katara and Sokka mid-argument as they returned with supplies.

"You were flirting with him."

"I most certainly was _not_. I was just-"

"Using your feminine wiles to score an extra apple or two?" Toph supplied, sinking her teeth into the crisp fruit. If Katara was pretty enough to turn guy's heads and make their brains go to mush, more power to her. It was a useful trait.

"I wasn't doing that either!" Katara huffed. "It's called being friendly."

"No offense Sweetness, but if you aren't doing it on purpose you might land yourself in a heap of trouble. Besides, Sokka's one to talk. I don't need eyes to know you drool after anything in a skirt."

"She was wearing pants!" Sokka protested, forgetting Toph hadn't actually been with them on the recent shopping trip. "And I wasn't drooling, she just- reminded me of someone, okay? So drop it."

"Whatever."

"It is fairly hypocritical," Katara mused. "Why should you be allowed to flirt when I can't? Not that I was, mind you, because I totally wasn't, but it's a double standard."

"It has nothing to do with you being a girl, okay? It's just, you've liked guys before and it turned out not so great."

"Sokka, being nice to a grocery boy is so not- ugh. I'm not having this conversation."

Toph folded her arms and sighed. "Are you avoiding something, Katara? Because I've heard this argument before, and even if you're cutting it off early this time I know somewhere in the next few minutes one of you usually mentions the name Jet. Now, it's not the first time you've brought up stuff that happened before I joined you and then didn't bother to explain. Normally, that's fine by me. I wasn't there, it's not my problem. However, every time someone mentions that name all three of your heartbeats go screwy. I don't care about all the other stuff I missed, but that warrants an explanation."

"Well that's easy enough," Sokka scoffed, "the deal with Jet is that he's a crazy manipulative jerk who suckered Aang and Katara into helping him try to wipe out an occupied Earth Kingdom village. He's completely nuts." He paused for a moment before adding, "Did I mention Katara had a major crush on him?"

"SOKKA!"

"Well you did. Even made him a hat."

Toph raised an eyebrow. "Interesting. So he's mentally imbalanced but hot?"

Katara sighed and placed one hand over her (very red, not that Toph could see her blushing) face and mumbled. "Yes. He's totally hot. And a player. He is an arrogant, lying, _loathsome_ weasel-snake and I hate his guts."

Toph grinned.

"Is that right."

***

Eventually the blasted iron hardened to steel and Jiro took over, folding and refolding the dark mass. Zuko didn't ask what he was planning to make. He didn't particularly care. Instead of the constant heat and din of Jiro's workshop, Zuko spent his time in Hoshi's garden, running _katas_ "cold" until his body fell back into the familiar routine. It was oddly comforting, and he found he was more aware of his body than before. The walls hid him from prying eyes, and Brighteyes watched curiously but didn't comment- much.

"Why don't you use fire?"

"I'm practicing form, and I don't want to set Hoshi's garden ablaze. Or, you know, _you_."

"You wouldn't hurt me."

"Not on purpose."

"Not ever. You're better than that."

Zuko sighed and sat down. His health had improved but he was thin and tired easily. His ankle still felt weak. It never really hurt, per se, it just gave out at unexpected moments.

"I'm really not," he muttered. _You only think I'm good at stuff because you've never seen anyone better. You don't have a basis of comparison, and if you did you'd realize I'm- passable. Adequate. Not good. Definitely not a master. _

Her ignorance was kind of flattering, in a convoluted way. Uncle had mentioned once that "late bloomers" ran in his lineage, which was probably supposed to be heartening. Zuko figured he must have meant Mom's side of the family, which he knew almost nothing about. He didn't ask, though. Uncle and he had established a simple understanding after the old man's return. Zuko didn't mention Lu Ten and Iroh didn't mention Ursa.

He had reached a slightly different agreement with Hoshi. He didn't question her intentions and she didn't pressure him to spill his guts. She wanted him to confide in her, he knew, but he just couldn't. He had so little left, and even if the memories were painful, even if the dreams left him sapped and exhausted as though he hadn't slept at all, even when they trapped him, made him relive every agonizing moment in scarring detail, dammit, they were _his_. He was defined by his past, by his failures and the events that had left their marks on his body. He wasn't that young to have battle scars, really. He was sixteen. Almost seventeen. Practically a man.

The scars mapped out his life, from innocent childhood injuries, faded with age and nearly invisible, to the ever-raw burn on his face, the pale traces on his back, the band of pink on his ankle. He'd always had to struggle and fight. So much of his life, so much of _him_ had been stripped away, worn down to bone and skin until only the essence remained… He knew Hoshi meant well, even if her methods caught him off guard or left him thoroughly baffled, knew she just wanted to take the pain away. Problem was he didn't know what was there besides that. If he let her, if she even _could_ heal that, what would be left?

Would there even _be_ anything left?

"Shen?"

He snapped his head up, eyes widening as she touched him.

"It's nothing. Go back to your lessons."

The little girl frowned and crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm not stupid, you know. You think because I'm a kid I can't tell something's wrong?"

He had an agreement with Uncle. He had an agreement with Hoshi. He had no such agreement with Brighteyes. Dammit.

"I don't- I'm not- go away."

"Nuh uh."

"Leave me alone."

It hadn't worked on Katara, and it worked worse on Brighteyes. She unfolded her arms and threw them around him, settling her head under his chin.

_What the hell?! _

_She's hugging me._

_What the hell._

Then-

_Get off me you crazy freak! Let __**go**_.

No luck. He couldn't even _try_ to tell her to get lost.

The former prince had developed defenses against every possible scenario. Some of them, most of them, had been shattered in the previous months and he had to gather up the shards and start over, make the metaphorical armor flexible where it had been rigid, stronger where he had been impaled almost negligently, but he had no recourse for this.

He struggled to breathe, to think, to react. Hoshi had held him, but that was different. That was- stability when he was unsteady. Like leaning on Jiro's shoulder. Hoshi was a professional; she was just doing her job. Brighteyes…

_So weak_, he thought, and started to laugh. Shoulders shaking, he let his head fall to the side. He could take anything, anything at all- except the spontaneous affection of a child who _didn't want anything from him_.

When he finished laughing, Brighteyes pulled back for a moment and gave him a _look_. "You're supposed to hug me back, you know."

"Better luck next time."

It took five minutes before he realized he'd given the girl permission to touch him.

***

"Katara?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks. For- catching me."

"You feeling any better?"

"I guess. It- still hurts." She nodded, and pushed her hair way from her face. Aang understood why she kept it bound most of the time, but when she let it down it made her look so much freer- like a wild bird. Maybe when all this was behind them they could go back to the Northern Air Temple and ride the air currents…

"I'm not really sleepy. Do you- would you mind staying up with me for a bit? Just to watch the stars."

"Not at all."

They laid down side by side but not quite close enough to touch.

"Thanks Katara."

"No problem."

It was an odd sensation, to feel the tug of the open sky and the solid anchoring presence of the earth at the same time. Toph was trying to teach him to feel things through the ground, and he thought he could sense Katara's body beside him, but it might just be his imagination.

"Hmm."

"What?"

"I was just thinking. Toph can see so much with her Earthbending, but she can't share this with us."

Katara made a face. "Yeah, I think I used that against her once. Not really a shining moment for me."

"Sorry, didn't mean to bring up bad memories."

"That's alright. I guess I just have to accept the fact that I can be a jerk sometimes."

"It'd be awfully boring if you were perfect _all_ the time."

She laughed. "I guess perfection must be overrated, then."

"Not always. This- is pretty perfect." A shadow fell across his face. "Almost, any way. If only we just had Appa…"

Katara reached out and laid her hand on his arm. "The stars aren't going anywhere, Aang. After we get him back, we'll watch the stars and use him as a pillow, okay?"

"Yeah, that sounds good. That sounds…perfect."

***

High in the Yin mountains a young girl meandered up a twisting dirt path, her clear green eyes drinking in the view. Her jet-black hair was pulled up into a ponytail, with beaded pins stuck into the base. Wispy strands escaped to fall down over her face, and her cheek bore a shallow scrape. She was dressed in a worn tunic over patched pants and short-sleeved shirt, wrappings to protect her shins and wrists, and a wide belt. She smiled broadly in the morning sunlight, naming the flowers along the trail.

A teenage boy walked beside her, and listened but made no comment. He wore similar clothing, but his tunic was quilted for warmth and he carried a leather pack. His dull black hair spilled over his eyes, partially obscuring the thick, ridged scar covering the left side of his face.

"Was it really this far?"

"Seems longer when you're going uphill. Plus, you were pretty out of it. We're almost there."

They crested the ridge and turned. Zuko caught his breath. The barren plateau had erupted with life. Wildflowers bobbed gently, bright yellow, blue, pink and orange blossoms dotting the meadow. Vivid green shoots sprouted from the base of the dead tree, vines trailed from the twisted branches like stands of a jade necklace. They waded through the grass, dewdrops soaking their pants. Zuko dropped the pack by the base of the tree.

"Come see!"

He joined Brighteyes near the edge of the bluff and looked down at the valley. Brighteyes latched her arms around his elbow and smiled, drawing a deep breath.

"Isn't it beautiful?"

It was. The valley lay nestled at the bottom of a steep ravine, a drop of bright green against dark. From this vantage the village was mostly concealed, a curve of terraced rice paddies the only indicator of human habitation. Brighteyes inhaled deeply through her nose and sighed contentedly. Zuko took it in at a glance and looked away.

They spent most of the day on the plateau. Zuko settled against the tree and closed his eyes against the startling blue of the sky. He was doing so much better but still tired easily, and the thin mountain air didn't help him catch his breath. Despite all Hoshi's poking and dosing his ankle bothered him often enough that the old woman had showed him how to stabilize the joint with cloth wrappings. Zuko hadn't realized before that it actually mattered which way you tied a bandage.

"Hey Zuko. I don't have lessons today."

"S why we're up here."

"I know. I was wondering if you'd teach me to fight now."

Zuko opened one eye and raised his eyebrow.

"Pleeeaase?"

He closed his eye, sighed, and then opened both before standing.

"Alright. Come here."

"Yeah!"

"Hoshi taught you anatomy, right?" She nodded. He took one small grass-stained hand and held it to his stomach, just under the ribs.

"You know what that is?"

"Solar plexus," she recited. "It's right above the muscle that controls breathing, and it's important to remember because it's the largest collection of chi in the body. And it's the location of the third chakra."

He nodded. "In fighting it's called the core. All your strength comes from that point. It's how you keep balance, how you center yourself, and the origin of any attack or defense. You with me so far?"

"Yeah."

He dropped her hand and stepped back.

"All right, listen carefully. If anyone ever tries to mess with you hit them in the solar plexus as hard as you possibly can and _run like hell_. Got it?"

Brighteyes rolled her eyes and let her breath out in a huff. "_Zu_-ko…"

"I'm serious. If they grab you from behind use your elbow. It works on everyone- man or woman, Bender or non-Bender. Hit them in the gut and run like hell." He flashed an unexpected grin at her pouting face and then added, "Of course, it's not as effective if they're wearing armor…"

"You jerk."

"Am not. Hoshi would kill me if I tried to teach you something and you ended up breaking your leg or stabbing yourself or accidentally falling off the edge of the cliff."

She sighed, "Yeah, probably," and sank into the grass, absently twirling the blades in her fingers. "I just wish, sometimes, that I was brave."

"Right. Because saving a complete stranger's life is totally cowardly."

Her eyes opened wider than he had ever seen and she stopped tearing the grass. Zuko wasn't really in the mood for philosophical discussions on the nature of courage, though, so he distracted her with food. It seemed to work, because after lunch she started gathering wildflowers and weaving the stems together.

When Brighteyes looped the garland over her head and immediately started gathering flowers for a second chain, Zuko raised an eyebrow.

"I hope you don't think _I'm_ going to wear that."

"Don't be stupid, Shen. This one's for Hoshi."

"Of course."

He watched her for a while, and then closed his eyes. Not sleeping, just- resting. Then, out of nowhere-

"You're going to leave, aren't you?"

He opened his eyes but didn't say anything.

"It's okay," she went on. "I understand. That's how the stories go. The hero can't hide forever. He stays in the sanctuary until he's ready to continue his journey."

"I'm not a hero, Brighteyes."

"Sure you are."

He ignored that. _What the hell did Hoshi tell her, anyway?_ "Besides, I don't have anywhere to go."

"But you're still going to leave."

It wasn't really a question. It had never been a question. Youjing Caodi was a safe haven, a refuge from the rest of the world. He wished he could stay, but that wasn't how things worked. Not for him.

"It's complicated. I don't- I'm not supposed to be here. It's not (_my home_) my place."

"You can't leave yet. Hoshi has to say you're all healed first."

Zuko sighed. He didn't want to think about this. He didn't want to think about anything at all. He lay back in the grass and stared up into the blue.

"Hey, that cloud looks like a-"

"Don't. Just- don't talk for a while. Can you do that? I just- I just want to be still."

Brighteyes looked down from the sky, and caught sight of her companion's expression. She let her hands fall to her sides, and whispered, "Okay."

After a while Brighteyes lay down next to him and curled against his side. He listened to her breath slow, and didn't wake her up until the late afternoon.

"I'll miss you," she mumbled sleepily.

"I haven't left yet!" he snapped, stuffing supplies back into the pack with more force than was really necessary. "Come on, it'll be dark soon."

On the way back down the hill, Brighteyes tripped and sprained her wrist. Zuko momentarily panicked that she had broken a bone, but calmed down some when she didn't turn green and pass out. Hoshi took in the situation with long-suffering patience, which didn't make him feel better about it.

"She has way too much experience with injuries," Zuko muttered, and Hoshi wondered how the irony of that comment could possibly escape his attention.

***

"Sokka, what are you doing?"

"Nothing."

"You've been sitting on a rock staring up for half an hour now. I can tell _how_ you're sitting but I'm getting kind of curious about what you're looking at. I'd be sort of worried if it turned out you're staring at nothing."

Sokka sighed.

"Alright, it's not "nothing". It just doesn't concern you, okay?"

Toph cracked her knuckles. "Did you just ask me to bury you up to your neck for the rest of the night? Because I'd love to."

"_This has nothing to do with you_. Not your problem, alright? Go bother somebody else for a while. I'm not in the mood."

"Whatever. You realize this means I'll make you pay when you least expect it, right?"

He didn't even bother to reply. Toph turned and quickly strode away, disappearing from his sight behind a large boulder. Katara met her just around the corner, her face drawn in a worried frown.

"He's staring at the moon, isn't he?"

"Yes," Katara sighed. _Staring at Yue._

"Well shit."

***

Zuko wasn't hiding. He was just- avoiding attention. It was awkward to interact with the villagers (especially if they were drunk) and the fact that he couldn't begin to comprehend what they were celebrating only emphasized his unease.

Apparently Brighteyes' loner status was purely a matter of circumstance. She just had a different daily schedule than all her age-mates, except on special occasions like this when she could join their diversions with reckless abandon. Mostly he was glad for her, but a darker part was deeply envious, almost resentful as he watched her race away laughing. He had never possessed that kind of _ease_ relating to other people.

_Jealous of a peasant, Zuzu? You always were a disappointment. A disgrace on the family name. _

He finally settled on the stoop of a house away from the general traffic and pressed one hand against his face. He knew no one would bother him, but couldn't shake the tension itching between his shoulder blades.

"There you are. I wondered where you'd run off to."

He looked up into Hoshi's unreadable eyes.

"There's too many people."

"You have to get used to dealing with people again, you know."

"I know. That's not what I meant. I just feel on edge for some reason. It's _too_ safe, does that make sense? I keep seeing things that I know won't happen. You said the worst is over, they won't suddenly change their minds just because I don't look pathetic any more..."

Hoshi wisely kept her mouth shut. He didn't resemble a ghost anymore, true, but he didn't look like the boy on the poster either. His face was all bony angles. Instead of sharply defined muscle, his body had grown long and lean. He had regained full range of motion but not much endurance. He would recover, she'd make sure of that, but he would always bear the weight of his experiences.

"Everything is working the way it's supposed to, except for me. I know this doesn't make sense, but I'd feel more comfortable if there actually _was_ something to be on the lookout for."

"I'm not at all surprised. You were trained to be vigilant, so you keep looking for threats even if they aren't there. It's a fairly common phenomenon for soldiers."

He frowned. "I'm not really a soldier."

"You're also not really _not_ a soldier." Hoshi sat down on the step. "You're more familiar in that world. You don't feel like you fit here."

"I don't. I can't stay, Hoshi. I don't have anywhere to go, but I can't stay either."

She nodded, lips pursed.

"May I ask you something, Zuko? This may seem rather forward of me, but- if you returned to the outside world, and there was an opportunity to return to what you were, would you take it?"

"You mean, if they'd let me come back? No more _price_ on my head, all is forgiven…?"

_To have his life back, to have freedom, acceptance, a place to belong again even if he didn't quite fit the mold._

"Yes."

"I- honestly don't know."

They sat silently for a while, Hoshi still, Zuko tapping the weathered planks with calloused fingers as he tried to form his swirling thoughts into coherent words.

"I'd never- I wouldn't betray _you_, Hoshi. I wouldn't tell anyone where to find you, no matter what. Wouldn't tell anyone about this place. I owe you that. More than that. Besides, the door is closed. They don't want me. _He_ doesn't want me. So there's no point wasting time on it."

"What do _you_ want?"

"Doesn't matter. It never mattered. Why should that be different now?"

"For one thing, you have a choice what to do next. Are you going to simply walk away and just take things as they come? Or do you want to plan a little, choose a direction ahead of time, something to work for?"

"I'm not very good at planning…"

"No? I'd say you are very good at planning. You did reach Han Ling in one piece, after all. You are tenacious and adaptable."

"I choke up if I'm caught off guard."

"I know. That's why I want you to consider things before you run off."

"Why'd you really come to find me?"

"Jiro's looking for you."

"What for?"

"He didn't say."

"Hoshi?"

"Mmm?"

"How do you try to find someone if you have absolutely no idea where to begin looking?"

She smiled. Zuko didn't mention his uncle, but he didn't really need to. The man had been his only real ally for two and a half years, probably longer.

"I'd start with the last place he was known to be."

"Doesn't help. Last known location is the North Pole months ago. Stale information."

"Alright. You found the reward notice in the colonies, right? What does that suggest?"

"He's gone into hiding in the Earth Kingdom. Doesn't really narrow things down."

"No, it doesn't. You need a point of reference. Tell me, Zuko… how well do you know your way around this part of the world?"

"Shit, Hoshi, I don't even know where the hell I am."

She chuckled. "Fair enough. I'll put it this way, if you followed the road out of Youjing Caodi eventually you'd reach Lan Hu. Down the hill from that there are more villages and townships until you hit the Dao He. What do you know about the river?"

"It's the largest and longest in the world, reaching from the western coast of the continent almost to Ba Sing Se. It's named for the island near the delta. Relatively near, anyway."

"That island is called Fan Rong Men Hu. It's the largest free port in the world."

Zuko stopped walking as the implication of that sunk in.

"Free port?"

Free ports were relatively rare- usually small and difficult to access. They provided safe haven to anyone; pirate vessels, stranded Fire Nation troops, Earth Kingdom traders... Provided, of course, that you paid the proper fees, greased the right palms, and paid due attention to local customs.

"The entire island is essentially its own nation, loyal only to the tides of commerce. You can find anything there, for the right price. Now, obviously there are dangers to the place. If anyone realized who you were, what your head is worth, no one would lift a finger to protect you. In fact, they'd probably fight over the bounty. But it might be worth the risk, for what you could find there."

"_Might_ be?"

"I'm not going to tell you to stroll casually into a viper's nest. It's your call. I _don't_ have any allies there, and I haven't been anywhere near for over a decade. My information is a tad rusty."

"But you think I could find…news?"

Hoshi shrugged. "I'm not ready to let you go just yet, my boy. I won't send you off half-healed and ill prepared. You have plenty of time to consider your options. In the meantime, I think you ought to see what Jiro wants."

Zuko had a pretty good idea already. He knew the blacksmith was a scrupulously fair man, knew he would want to "pay him back". He forced himself not to flinch when rough hands pressed cold steel into his palm. Looking down into his hand, though, Zuko began to smile. He held the slim, three-sided file into the light and watched it gleam softly.

_Look at that. He made a universal key_.


	19. Chapter 18

Hoshi wasn't kidding when she said she wanted to make sure he was prepared before setting off. The old woman was a goldmine of information, and he wasn't sure how much she knew first-hand from experiences as a self proclaimed "itinerant healer" and how much was simply her patented brand of common sense.

Some of it was obvious even to him once she pointed it out. Could he mend his own clothing? No. Cook? Sort of. Did he think he'd find someone else to take care of things _for_ him? Of course not. He had to be completely self-reliant now. Whatever qualms he may have once held for menial tasks fell by the wayside, and he applied himself with the same diligence he used in combat training. There wasn't a difference, really. They were simply skills he needed to survive.

"You'll want a different name, of course." She suddenly straightened, her manner identical to the stiff formality of military command and barked, "You, boy! What's your name?"

"Uh, Li?"

She dissolved, chuckling. "Almost believable. You only hesitated a little. Picked the first thing that came to mind, didn't you?"

"Well, yeah."

"Good instincts. It's not a bad choice. Li is extremely common, and you don't want to make yourself more memorable than you already are."

Out of reflex, Zuko raised a hand to his face.

"I can't hide this."

"No, you can't. You can work around it, though, if you're careful. Such scars aren't extremely uncommon these days."

Zuko looked at the floor. Hoshi lifted his chin with one finger.

"You have nothing to be ashamed of."

"You sure about that?"

"Well, I was pretty sure you'd confessed all your sins several weeks ago, but if you've been holding out on me…"

"Yeah, I totally made that up so you'd feel sorry for me. I'm actually a cannibal."

"Nice to see you're developing a sense of humor."

He shrugged. "You really think I can pull this off?"

"You don't exactly resemble what the buzzard-wolves are looking for, do you?"

"I guess not."

The bounty hunters and soldiers and opportunists out for quick dirty money wouldn't be looking for any teenage boy with a scar- they'd be hunting _Prince Zuko_.

Not for the first time, Zuko found himself conflicted over his reputation. Given the present situation, it was probably a good thing most people thought he was an arrogant, obsessive idiot with poor impulse control. The kind of person who would never stoop to hiding among the unwashed masses and would undoubtedly fail if he tried. Those hunting him would assume he was too damn stupid to swallow his pride even to save his life. Unfortunately for them he seemed to have misplaced the entire concept of pride somewhere after realizing "Wanted" and "unwanted" actually meant the same thing.

It was undoubtedly _useful_ that he was consistently underestimated but that didn't mean he had to _like it_. On the other hand, he could and sometimes did derive perverse satisfaction from proving assumptions false.

He could figure that out later.

***

Deep in the sheltered harbor of Full Moon Bay Suki waited for the shift to change, considering the circumstances that brought her to this unlikely employment.

She had always liked helping people. She was good at it, had been trained from a young age to use her strength, intelligence and courage on others' behalf.

Since leaving Kyoshi Island she and her team had gotten a taste of just how drastically the mainland had been affected by the war. Displaced families, desperate refugees, shattered lives testified by the burned shells of towns, seared battlefields, cracked fortifications, and the despair that often clung to those fortunate enough to survive. Not all the continent had been devastated, of course. The Fire Nation had left deep scars in its wake, but the Earth Kingdom resisted. It held fast, and withstood the assault.

Suki felt pride in that defiance; pride mingled with a hint of shame that the place of her birth had stood by, refusing to enter the fight, for a full hundred years. Kyoshi wasn't neutral any longer. She, and her warriors, had come to lend their support. In the larger scheme of things, it might seem like an altruistic teen leader and a handful of her finest would alter little. They weren't even a drop in a bucket- they were a drop in the _ocean_.

She didn't care. She would not- _could_ not- stand idle. It wasn't in her nature to act with cold indifference. It seemed like she had always been meant to serve a cause larger than herself, like she had been waiting for a greater destiny. Granted, she wasn't expecting that destiny to come calling in the shape of an immature Avatar, an untrained Waterbender, and her ever-so-slightly bigoted brother.

Sokka really had fancied himself a warrior. That naiveté was kind of cute, actually, once she had knocked some of the sexism out of his head and then knocked some sense _in_.

After the friends had gone, and the village had been put back together, Suki couldn't stall any longer. She had been called to service, and it couldn't be denied. Oyagi hadn't even tried to talk her out of leaving, just laid his hand on her shoulder and nodded.

She knew without a shred of doubt that she was doing exactly what she had always been meant to do.

That didn't mean she didn't miss her home. The customs in the mainland didn't always match up to island traditions, and she had learned to ignore the resentful attitude of macho would-be heroes.

When would people learn that gender had no relation to capability?

Suki sighed, and tugged at the collar of her uniform. It hadn't escaped her attention that it was tailored for a man's body. Stupid bureaucrat. All the other guards knew her Warriors weren't standard members of the military, why couldn't that bitchy old woman just let them keep their own clothes? And then there was the fact that Suki was used to being the one in command. True, back home she had to answer to Oyagi but she didn't _take orders_ from him…

"Hey, your shift ended five minutes ago."

"Hmm? Oh hey Kameko. I was just- thinking."

"Daydreaming about the boy again?"

Suki couldn't even try to deny the attraction, which the rest of her friends found hilarious.

"Not exactly, why?"

"Oh, it's nothing. I just heard a commotion on my way to relieve you, and well, you'll never guess who's here…"

Suki's eyes widened and she grabbed Kameko's shoulders. "Did he see you?"

"I don't think _they_ recognized me at all. Different uniform, no war paint, and besides we only really met the once."

Suki's lips lifted in a smile as a plan took seed in her head. She hugged her friend briefly. "This can't be a coincidence. Where are they?"

***

Eventually Zuko realized that Brighteyes was upset not because he was leaving, but because he was _leaving her behind_. He knew she had an adventurous spirit, so he did the only thing he could and told her about the world she might never get the chance to explore. He described the celestial lights, and the ice city at the North Pole. The wind swept remains of the Western Air Temple, with inverted pagodas hanging like stalactites. The bright turquoise waters and coral reefs surrounding his homeland and the dangerous beauty of molten lava glowing in the night.

Brighteyes had never seen the ocean, didn't understand the _magnitude_, why it wasn't easier to sail west from the Fire Nation to reach Ba Sing Se.

"It's too far," he tried to explain. "It's just- too far."

"Bet I could figure out a way."

Zuko smiled just a bit at her innocent confidence. "Maybe you're right."

Brighteyes bit her lip, then suddenly clapped her hands and demanded, "Show me Firebending."

"Promise you won't try to touch the fire or anything?"

She pulled a face and made a show of sitting on her hands, somewhat awkwardly considering the bandage on her left wrist. He summoned a flame in his palm, let the flickering orange tongue lick over his fingers, and watched the fascination behind the reflected light in her eyes. When he finally let the flame die, she looked up and smiled.

That wasn't the usual reaction, to be sure. No one had shown interest in his Firebending abilities for a very long time. Except Uncle, maybe, but he didn't really count. Usually it was just a given that he knew how to control fire, but wasn't very good at it.

"Are you listening to me?"

"Huh? Sorry. Got distracted."

"I said do you know how to ride an ostrich-horse?"

"Can't be harder than riding a Komodo-rhino."

As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized that by saying them he would now be proven wrong. So he was pleasantly surprised to discover the beast was far better tempered than the customary Fire Nation mounts.

Smelled nicer, too.

***

Sokka had reacted just as expected and the shock of recognition was absolutely priceless, but Suki's amusement was cut short by the news of Appa's loss. Aang was covering the pain well, but the subdued boy she had found in Full Moon Bay didn't match up with energetic figure in her memory. Katara confirmed that Aang wasn't exactly feeling himself, but added that his currant state was a vast improvement. She had also not so subtly hinted that Suki ought to go talk to Sokka alone at some point. The Kyoshi Warrior nodded; she had to admit his current behavior was driving her just a little nuts.

The moon shone full above the bluff, lighting her way with a soft blue glow. Suki found Sokka under a stone arch. He didn't look at her immediately.

"It's a beautiful moon," she said softly.

"Yeah, it really is."

She sat down next to him. "Look, I know you're just trying to help, but I can take care of myself."

"I know you can."

"Then why are you acting so over protective?"

He didn't answer immediately, and when he did his voice, and the rest of him, seemed oddly distant.

"It's so hard to lose someone you care about. Something happened at the North Pole, and I couldn't protect someone. I don't want anything like that to ever happen again."

Suki considered that for a moment. "I lost someone I cared about. He didn't die; he just went away. I only had a few days to get to know him, but he was smart, and brave, and funny…"

Sokka stood up, instantly indignant_._ "Who is this guy? Is he taller than me?"

_Wow. He's honestly that clueless. Is it bad I think that's funny and endearing?_

Keeping her face perfectly straight, she replied, "No, he's about your height."

"Is he better looking?"

_Oh, Spirits, help me._

"It _is_ you stupid!"

"Oh… "

They were so close, and Suki could almost feel the air between them thicken as Sokka finally caught on. She leaned in, and he followed, but just when she was sure he was about to kiss her he pulled away again, his face pained.

"I can't."

"I'm… sorry."

"No, you shouldn't be."

He was so caught up in his thoughts as he walked away that he didn't even see Katara standing beside the path. She spared him a glance that was equal parts sisterly concern and sheer frustration before joining Suki at the arch.

"I'm sorry. I thought maybe he'd open up to you."

"Almost, but not quite. He doesn't confide in his own sister?"

She shook her head. "He won't talk to any of us right now. He's usually so transparent about everything, but when he shuts people out, he really shuts them out. I couldn't help hoping he'd make an exception for you. He really likes you, you know."

"Tell me about her. The girl he lost? I want to know what happened."

Katara pressed her lips together and settled herself. "Sokka should be the one telling you all this, but I guess it hurts too much or something."

Suki shifted her skirts and sat down. "Worry about the strange motivations of the male heart later."

That won a weak smile. "All right. This might take a while."

"I've got time, Katara. You can even borrow my hanky if you need it."

_I just hope I don't need it myself._

Katara cleared her throat. "When we finally reached the North Pole, we were welcomed by the entire tribe. Chief Arnook even arranged a special feast. That's where we met Princess Yue…"

***

There simply wasn't a reason to wait any longer. All the preparations had been made and Hoshi knew Zuko had reached the point where he was close enough to fully recovered to deny he needed any more time to heal. She hated to send him off just yet- hated to send him off at all, but-

_He's not mine to keep. _

She closed her eyes briefly, listening to the soft voices carried from the other room. Figured that the boy would leave just as he was finally learning to open up. Of course, while he had discovered he could in fact talk to Brighteyes, he still couldn't _talk_ to her. Didn't want to burden her. Or didn't want to drive her away. Only Brighteyes already knew about his demons and they didn't scare her.

Hoshi had debated how much to explain before deciding full disclosure was inevitable. If she didn't tell the girl Brighteyes would have gotten it from someone else. Haku would have at least _tried_ to be diplomatic... So she kept to the truth but chose her words carefully. Brighteyes was an intelligent and uncommonly empathetic child, but Hoshi still had to remember to explain things in a manner her inexperienced mind would understand.

As expected, Brighteyes took it all in stride. Where Hoshi had been trained to read the minute clues of body language, voice inflection, and all the other hints that gave away truth of intention, Brighteyes simply _saw_ people; Zuko was not a monster in her eyes and never would be.

What, then, was he hiding so desperately? What was he concealing that he couldn't reveal when they had already seen him at his lowest?

The problem with invisible scars was that even if you knew they existed, they were still invisible. It was like knowing someone had been drastically injured and trying to perform surgery blindfolded- next to impossible and horrifically dangerous to the patient.

The old woman sighed, and turned her attention back to the items spread out before her. She had done all she could for the boy- all that he would allow. It was up to him now. She adjusted the spare tunic, folding it tighter, and started to pack.

Clothes came first, a motley assortment of faded garments; the obvious wear would serve to further camouflage his origins. Then travel rations and clean water, emergency supplies, clean bandages. A jar of freshly prepared salve to treat the scars on ankle and face, prevent the damaged tissue from tightening further. A blend of chamomile to ease sleep. A teacup, lacquered wooden bowl and several pairs of chopsticks. Bedroll and extra blanket. Spark rocks. A map only ten years out of date; the _geographical_ information wouldn't have changed, at least. Rope. A knife. General-purpose soap. And anything else she could possibly cram into the saddlebags that might come in handy somewhere down the road. Hoshi knew the situation you didn't prepare for had a distressing tendency to occur for just that reason. It wasn't like she would miss any of it.

Brighteyes had taught him the commands for her featherbrained mount because everyone knew a hero needed a valiant steed on his travels. Hoshi insisted he take the beast because it was absolutely ludicrous to walk all the way to the Dao He and she didn't want him compromising his health when he had finally gotten back on his feet.

She buckled the straps securely and set the saddlebags on the floor. The kitchen was quiet and when she entered Zuko sat alone at the table, fingers laced around a chipped teacup.

"Nervous?" she asked softly.

"I guess. Hoshi, I don't know if I can do this."

"You mean move on with your life, or pass as something you aren't?"

"Pass."

"Come with me."

Hoshi took him by the elbow and led him toward the clinic, to the corner where the mirror had been. She'd removed the thing (Feng Shui be damned) and stashed it in the corner. Now she replaced the silvered glass on its hook, and heard Zuko inhale sharply.

"Hardly a fat, pampered prince with a topknot, no?"

He shook his head numbly. If not for the scar, and the fact that he _knew_ he was looking at his own reflection, he'd hardly recognize himself. With his hair grown out and falling over his face, and his body thinner and taller- it might actually be possible to hide in plain sight.

"I'd offer to give you a haircut before you go, but it's probably more convincing to leave you scruffy."

Zuko leaned forward and squinted. "My eyes will give me away." _If the scar doesn't first._

"Most people won't look that close. It's not as uncommon as you'd think for westerners to have mixed blood. You know enough about the coastal regions to make a convincing drifter from the war zone, and enough about the Earth Kingdom to get by without giving your origin away."

"But not enough to make a plausible back-story."

"Then don't give one. You wouldn't be the first reluctant to share your past with complete strangers." Given his general appearance, most people wouldn't dare ask such personal questions. "Just remember, the currant Earth King is number fifty-two. That sort of thing every five year old knows."

"Right."

She ruffled a hand through his hair.

"Remind me to add a comb to your bags in the morning."

The next day dawned clear, perfect weather for travel. He tucked the comb next to Jiro's file, wrapped in a scrap of soft leather. Hoshi filled the rest of the pack with fresh fruit and other perishables, and a leather pouch filled with mixed denominations of coin. Zuko hefted the pack, settling the weight against his shoulder. The ostrich-horse (which he privately called "Help" rather than Brighteyes' childish pet-name) snorted impatiently by the front step. Brighteyes threw her arms around him without warning, and he awkwardly patted her shoulder. It was better, really, that she was staying where it was safe.

Finally she released him, offering a wide if somewhat watery smile. Some formerly dormant reflex prompted him to wipe away her tears with his knuckles.

"Good luck."

He swallowed, and his eyes flicked up to meet Hoshi's. "Did- Did I thank you?"

Hoshi waved that away. "No need, child. This is just what I do."

_Go find your life. Find yourself again. _

He nodded. Hoshi laid a hand on Brighteyes' shoulder as the girl waved goodbye. He waved back briefly, nimbly swung himself into the saddle, and set off down the road.

Hoshi wrapped both arms around her ward's shoulders- the girl would be taller than she was soon enough.

"You okay?"

Brighteyes tore her eyes from the road and craned her head up and backwards.

"Uh huh." She lowered her head, exhaled, and added. "We're gonna see him again. I just know it."

Hoshi couldn't help feeling the same.

As the name suggested, Lan Hu boasted a respectably sized lake, crystal blue and freezing. Half naked children shouted dares by the water's edge, jumped into the snowmelt to emerge nearly as blue as the lake itself. Zuko passed through almost unnoticed. People had their own affairs to attend, after all. Travelers from Youjing Caodi might be uncommon, but not unheard of. It wasn't any business of theirs.

He didn't find much traffic until much further down the road. Not many soldiers in the rural towns, for which he was grateful. His first real test came at a seedy-looking tavern in the foothills above the floodplain. Zuko would have preferred to stay away from other people, but he needed to re-supply and Help could use a night indoors as much as he could.

No one approached him, or seemed to take notice of the scarred traveler at all. He was almost starting to relax (not fully, of course- some part of him always stayed on alert these days) when a travel-stained soldier entered the tavern. He wore the uniform of a mere messenger, but Zuko got the impression he was actually a Scout and wondered what business the Army had this far out of the way.

The last group of Scouts he encountered had recognized Uncle by sight…His heart nearly stopped when hard brown eyes fell on him, but there was nothing more than passing interest in the soldier's gaze.

"You came from the north?"

Zuko nodded briefly, swallowing a momentary sense of panic. If one of the villagers had defied Haku's judgment and sent word of Zuko's location, the Army would have sent more than one man, and the response would have been swifter.

Plus they wouldn't be having this conversation if the Scout knew who he was, now would they?

"How's the condition of the roads?"

"Fair." Miraculously, his voice stayed even.

"The mountain passes?"

"Clear." And then, because it wouldn't do to give away just how far up the mountain he'd come from, added, "Mostly."

The Scout nodded, and turned his attention to the patron. Zuko forced himself not to sigh in relief. He finished eating as quickly as possible and then fled to his rented room. He locked the door and leaned against it, breath fast and harsh at the near miss.

_Dammit, if I panic this easily how the hell am I going to deal in Fan Rong Men Hu?_

_Same way you've always dealt- grit your teeth and bear it. You can take this. It'll get easier with practice._

_It had better._

***

Sokka couldn't believe his ears. "Wait- you came along to protect _me?"_

Suki blushed. "Listen, I'm really sorry about last night. We were talking, and saying things… I should have known it wasn't the right time. Your sister told me about Yue." She placed on hand gently on his arm. "I think I understand why you're having trouble moving on."

"You do?"

"Yeah. You can't let go because she isn't really gone. She died, but you still see her in the moon. Her _spirit_ is still alive, so you can't grieve the way people normally do. And maybe I'm totally out of line here, but from what Katara said she sounded like an amazing person and, well, I think she would want you to be happy. You know- get on with your life."

Sokka glanced away. "I know. It's just- the moon has always been this big thing for Katara because of her Waterbending. Me, not so much. Before all this I really had no interest in spiritual mumbo-jumbo, and now I have to deal with it so often it's like I'm the butt of a cosmic joke." He sighed. "And even more than that, every time I look at her, it reminds me that I failed. I know everyone thinks it was fate, but that just makes it worse. I swore to protect her, and I couldn't. And ever since, I've been trying to take care of everyone I have left but- it isn't really working. In fact, I think it's making things worse."

Suki nodded sympathetically. "Katara told me about what happened in the desert, and a little about General Iroh, too. I have to admit, I'm not sure I can believe he's really on our side."

"No kidding. If you think that's weird- did she tell you about Zuko?"

"Who?"

He slapped his forehead. "I can't believe she'd forget that part. You remember the jerk with the scar that set your village on fire? He followed us all the way to the North Pole, and after everything… well, a lot of people wanted to kill him. Can't say I had a problem with that, but apparently the Spirits have other ideas and said as much. Only now he's vanished off the face of the planet."

"Good riddance."

"I'd agree, except the Spirits are convinced we need him. Or rather, they said we shouldn't "interfere with his destiny" and Katara _interpreted_ that to mean we need him. It's all very confusing and a bit of a mess, really."

"No kidding. Sounds like maybe you need me to stick around a little longer after all."

"I really wouldn't mind that, but don't you need to get back to your Warriors?" He gave her a lopsided grin and gestured with his hands. "I mean, if you don't come back they might start to think I stole you away or something…"

"Like you could take me."

"Hey, I've been practicing, you know." He flexed to punctuate his words and Suki couldn't help but smile.

"I know."

This time, neither one of them pulled away and Suki couldn't help but feel the kiss was the _start_ of something and not just goodbye.

***

Things didn't exactly get easier further down the road, but he learned to deal. For the most part people left him alone, and that suited him just fine. Summer has coming, and he shed the warm quilted tunic for a lighter one and bound his hair back. The front wasn't quite long enough to stay put and strands escaped to hang in his face, which was fine by him too.

Apparently Hoshi was right- no one thought twice about the "unmistakable" scar. It had caught him off guard the first time someone reacted to the disfigurement with undisguised pity instead of disgust. Fire Nationals tended to assume that it was either a result of his own clumsiness and stupidity or well-deserved punishment. Earth Kingdom civilians apparently assumed it was the result of the war; assumed he was a victim of the Fire Nation.

He wasn't sure how to feel about that, really. The only thing he _was_ sure of anymore was that a century of fighting had made the whole world insane.

Fan Rong Men Hu was concentrated proof of that madness. It wasn't at all like the Free Ports he had encountered before, more an abscess in the face of civilization where were the underworld rose to the surface like scum on a contaminated well.

The island micro-nation held every vice, every sin, every transgression that one living being could commit against another, all woven together and distilled in a thick haze of coal smog and greed. The only laws present were unwritten and basic, more impulse than any actual code of conduct. It was every man for himself, and those not strong enough to defend themselves were quickly crushed. Eye for an eye, kill or be killed. Blood ran in the streets, debts were settled with the sale of lives, and those closest to honest citizens carried concealed weaponry as a matter of course.

Paradoxically, in the midst of that hellish crush of desperate souls and absolute chaos, an unmistakable air of _opportunity_ prevailed. If you could keep your footing, get a leg up, and keep climbing, the "Gateway of Prosperity" offered a fresh start to anyone passionate enough to grab that chance and strong enough to defend it- provided you didn't care if that fresh start was _clean_ by any stretch of the imagination.

Zuko schooled his face into a deadpan expression and threaded through the maze, grateful he'd had the foresight to stable the ostrich-horse at an inn on the mainland before stepping on to the ferry. He'd left most of his supplies there as well, and made sure to tuck his money well enough under his clothes it couldn't be easily lifted.

As always, the back of his neck tingled, and his eyes scanned the crowds with ingrained vigilance he didn't remember developing. In these streets, everyone was suspect. Hoshi's advice echoed in his head as he walked.

_"Don't try to act like you belong. Don't pretend you know the area or the lifestyle- that's just tempting trouble."_

_"So what do I do? Just stroll in and blunder around?"_

_"No. Never act lost, or unsure. Whatever you do, wherever you go, remember that you have the absolute right to it."_

_"I have the right to be there."_

_"Exactly. Make your actions confident and deliberate. Maybe you don't know the town, but you still know exactly what you're doing. Does that make sense?"_

_"Yeah, it- how do you know this stuff?"_

_She chuckled. "I've been around, my boy."_

It actually wasn't as hard as anticipated, and that discovery chilled him. He had expected such an environment to feel absolutely foreign, threatening, and instead it felt- familiar. He didn't come from this world, wasn't part of it, didn't belong to it. But he recognized it nonetheless. He knew how to deal with it, knew how this game was played. He'd been playing a close variation for years.

It was not a comforting thought.

Unsurprisingly, relevant rumors didn't simply float his way on the stinking breeze. Convenient eavesdropping only happened in stories- he'd have to work for information. Still, people talked, and the tide of currant events caught him by surprise.

"They say even though she's a Firebending prodigy, her heart is colder than ice."

"Prodigy or not, she's tangling with something bigger than that spoiled li'l bitch can even unnerstand. I'll lay even money the Avatar flattens her."

"Superstitious bastard. The Avatar's just an untrained kid. He's like _ten_ or somethin'. Some great _hope_." The cynic spat into the street. "Why'd'you even care? Doesn't matter a lick which side wins, if either ever does." He laughed callously.

His companion shrugged. "Gives me summit to wager on."

Zuko turned down a side street, forcing his hands to unclench. It wasn't what he was looking for by any means, but-

_Azula is hunting the Avatar? What else have I missed?_

He spotted a weapons shop that actually looked halfway legitimate and stepped inside. Some random Firebender wouldn't attract attention here, but combined with the scar- no. Zuko had to maintain his tenuous cover, and that meant he needed something besides his fists to fight with.

He ignored the shopkeeper's attempt to interest him in jeweled but substandard daggers. "Dao swords," he interrupted. "Have any?"

"Ahhhh, the customer knows what he wants."

The customer did indeed. Zuko felt a familiar sneer pull at the corner of his lip as the oily little man pressed a set of obviously inferior blades into his hands. He dropped them on the floor with a clatter.

"I said swords. Not scrap metal. If you insist on wasting my time, I'm sure there are hundreds of other weapons dealers. It's a big city."

That earned him an appraising glance, and for a moment he was afraid he'd pushed his luck too far, but then the man held his hands in a placating gesture and added extra honey to his voice.

"I have much more in stock, I'm sure I can find something to match your superior taste."

Zuko watched him duck behind a beaded curtain and wondered why, after so many months, it was so remarkably easy to call up the old responses. It was this place. He couldn't afford to show weakness here, so he pulled the old mask out of storage.

The real question was why he _hesitated_ to rely on techniques that had kept him alive for much of the past three years.

_Because acting like Prince Zuko could get me recognized and killed, maybe?_

Eventually Zuko found a set that matched his needs in terms of quality and lack of ornamentation. It wouldn't do to appear desperate, however, so after a couple experimental swings to test the balance he set them back on the counter.

"That pair's not utter crap, at least. But like I said, there are other shops."

"Why search further when you've already found what you require?"

"I didn't say I had. Besides, you're asking twice as much as they're worth."

"Ah, unfortunately the recent turmoil has increased shipping fees. Sign of the times, I'm afraid."

Zuko narrowed his eyes. He was tempted to call the man out- he was obviously a fence and not a particularly discreet one at that- but he couldn't afford to lose this opportunity. Besides, in this town he wouldn't be surprised if the _fruit vendors_ dealt in smuggled or stolen goods.

"What kind of turmoil is disrupting your business, exactly?"

"You haven't heard? The Firelord sent his own daughter after the Avatar."

"Oh, that," Zuko replied, keeping his voice disaffected despite the fact he only just discovered the news and hadn't entirely recovered from the revelation. "What does that have to do with shipping fees?"

"Well, it seems a large portion of the Fire Nation offensive has regrouped to provide the Princess support, as it were."

Zuko blinked, and swallowed momentary rage. It would be just so typical for Azula to get the entire war effort as backup when he'd gotten nothing. And yet, he couldn't help thinking the troop maneuvers signified something else. He had nothing to base the feeling on-it was just a hunch. He shook his head slightly and stepped toward the door, murmuring "Fascinating".

The shopkeeper abruptly lowered the price of the swords.

"Business really that bad? I'd think the recent activity would _increase_ traffic in this part of the world."

"You said you didn't know what was going on-"

"Actually, _you_ said that. I said I wasn't paying your asking price."

And the idiot finally, _finally_, began to haggle in earnest.

Zuko had learned from far too many of Uncle's side-trips that if he didn't want the entire budget spent on useless frivolities he had to drive a harder bargain than the seller. That experience served him well, and he left the shop with the swords, a lighter purse and an earful of dubious rumors.

Doubtless the encounter would leave an impression in the shopkeeper's mind, but he didn't care. He wouldn't be sticking around. Not because he wasn't having any luck, but because he _was_. Either the place had changed since Hoshi had last passed through (and he had no doubt the old woman had personal experience with the town) or she had overlooked a certain aspect of the situation- temptation.

Fan Rong Men Hu was more than a Free Port. It was the kind of place where a man with a price on his head could still carve out a personal empire by proving more trouble than the bounty was worth. In this town, all pretensions were stripped away. Strength was determined the old way, the hard way. There was an undeniable candor in that brutality, in predators wearing their colors blatantly instead of covered with a veneer of civilization.

Zuko was feeling more honest with himself than he had for a long time. And he knew, from that newfound transparency, that were it not for the fact he already had a mission to uphold a part of him would itch to test that chance.

Whether or not he actually had the fortitude to survive such an attempt was a completely different matter. He didn't really want to find out. He could listen for rumors on the move- that would be safer than staying in one place anyway. There were less suicidal ways to catch a lead on Uncle's whereabouts.

Zuko reoriented himself and set off for the northbound ferry, thinking he'd have to do something about his lack of income soon. He arranged the swords on his back and drummed his fingers on the boat rail. The riverside town was nominally under Earth Kingdom control, and while uniformed soldiers patrolled the shore they made no attempt to interfere with the island or the traffic on the waterfront. When the ferry pulled in Zuko settled his swords and disembarked, head partly down.

Unfortunately, while the presence of the weapons didn't immediately mark him as a troublemaker, it did raise his profile on the street. And Zuko didn't have to go looking for trouble. When the dock suddenly erupted in a flurry of steel and flailing limbs, reflex took over and he pulled the blades free and separated them in a single movement.

_Figures that I'd get out of that hellhole intact only to get caught in a fight back in "civilization"._

Completely focused on not getting skewered or taking a boot to the face he didn't notice one of the passengers from the ferry standing just out of the action and taking in the spectacle with faint amusement.

The watcher was fairly young, in his late twenties perhaps, and carried himself with the assurance of someone who knew his own strength and wasn't afraid to use it should occasion demand. A vertical scar marred his face from forehead to cheek, white against his tan skin, and similar scars riddled his well-muscled arms. He was dressed too neatly for a refugee or common bruiser, but too casually for a legitimate bodyguard or soldier. His attentive stance- boot clad feet planted wide, hand resting on the hilt of the sword at his hip- indicated formal training. Brown eyes scanned the melee before settling on the flashing dual blades. A slight smile graced his lips; he was clearly enjoying the show.

The brawl ended as suddenly as it had begun, with no clear cause or winning side. Less fortunate combatants limped away, nursing bruises and supporting friends. Zuko relaxed his stance and cautiously lowered his arms to his sides, pleased he hadn't completely lost his touch after months without practice. It appeared his stamina was returning, as well, and he suspected recovering at a high altitude helped more than a little at the lower elevation. His body ached, but not cripplingly so, and he was barely winded. He closed his eyes briefly and turned to leave before he got caught in anything else.

And froze as he felt eyes on the back of his neck. Before he could form any kind of response, a voice called out from the edge of the street.

"Impressive. I could use a man like you."

Even as his defenses screamed into action, he couldn't help smiling slightly at the unexpected praise. He swallowed, caution overtaking momentary surprise, and turned.

"What kind of man would that be, exactly?"

The swordsman smiled. "Handy in a fight." He indicated the wreckage littering the waterfront. "There's not many with the coordination to wield dual blades, and certainly not many so obviously skilled at such a young age."

Zuko studied him carefully, his expression guarded. He knew he'd been lucky to run into Hoshi and Brighteyes, knew good people like them had become a rare breed. On the other hand, while undeniably dangerous, the stranger also gave the impression of respectability. He was a professional- that much was obvious. And unless the man had some twisted reason for playing mind games evidently hadn't the slightest clue of Zuko's identity.

The teen shrugged. "I can take care of myself."

"You also turned your back on the wretched hive," and the man indicated the island with thinly veiled disgust, "which is a better recommendation still."

Zuko clicked the swords back together and sheathed them, then folded his arms over his chest. "What are you looking for, exactly?"

"Dependable fighter. I rent my services to travelers and caravans, but the way things are heating up lately I don't fancy taking my chances all by my lonesome. Had a partner lined up for this latest run, but he got in a spot of trouble. Nothing too serious but folks want to leave tomorrow so I can't afford to wait."

"You're a guard for hire?"

"And guide. Some of the safer routes don't follow the main roads, and I know every back way, trail and sloth-goat path from here to Ba Sing Se."

Zuko considered his prospects. He had little money, no source of income, and no idea where to look for Uncle. He didn't want anything to do with the possibilities the "Gateway" offered, and although it was dangerous should he be discovered, it was less likely he would be recognized further east…

"Do you often make job offers to complete strangers?"

"I know, I know- the world is a dangerous place. I don't expect you to trust me- I'd be rather surprised if you weren't skeptical. Sometimes, though, you just have to take the chance."

"Where's this caravan?"

"Other side of the river. I had to settle some things before setting off. Tell you what- I'll pay your passage to the south side and you can check it out for yourself. No obligations, you get a free boat trip. Unless there's something keeping you here?"

"Not really."

_It can't hurt to check it out, right? _

_Are you insane? You can't trust him. You can't trust anyone._

"I'll pay my own fare- there's something _I_ need to take care of first. Give me a location and I'll meet you there."

"Fair enough."

Zuko stuffed the scribbled directions into his shirt and strode off, wishing he could read people the way Hoshi did. The- mercenary?- seemed legitimate enough, and oddly friendly. How the hell could a man with that many scars be so…mellow?

_This is too good to be true. It can't be real. I'm not this lucky._

But the caravan was set up exactly as advertised, a desperate congregation of refugee families complete with snot-nosed kids and scraggly pack animals. When the swordsman approached Help only whiffled softly and head-butted Zuko's shoulder. He hoped the ostrich-horse had good people-sense. Zuko's own instincts were fried on that level and simply screamed an unconditional warning that offered no assistance whatsoever judging people or situations. He'd learned to ignore that incessant alarm- to a degree. Reason insisted this man read completely trustworthy, if slightly unusual. Zuko was just understandably paranoid.

"Wasn't sure you'd show after all."

Zuko shrugged. "Neither was I."

"So you're in?"

"One way trip to Ba Sing Se, right?"

"If that's how you want it. Pay's half now, the other half after we complete the trip."

"Sounds fair enough."

"Well then. I suppose we better make this official. You got a name?"

Zuko smiled faintly, feeling oddly liberated. He took a split second to consider his options, remembering small warm hands closed over his wrist, Brighteyes grinning as she pulled him through the garden.

"A couple, actually." The smile faded as less pleasant memories filled his mind, harsh echoes whispering. _Failure. Traitor. Coward._ He pushed them away.

"Call me Shen."

The swordsman nodded briskly. "Kai."

It wasn't until later, looking over the paperwork for the convoy that Kai noticed the scarred teen sighed his name with the characters for "ghost." It could be an affectation, or a pseudonym… or just a reflection of what the war did to people. Even if it was a false name, well, that was none of his business.

He shrugged, and took a pull of baijiu.


	20. Chapter 19

Once established that his cover remained secure and the offer was genuine, Zuko's mind gradually quieted from its frenetic alarm. It was oddly reminiscent of the early days of his banishment, when the ever-pervasive thrum of the ship's engine rode the edge of his attention before mercifully fading to background noise. The apprehension was still there of course, but he was able to focus on more pressing issues. Like determining what exactly he had signed on for and the kind of people he'd thrown himself in with.

The refugees weren't hard to figure out; they were displaced civilians, bitter from the war but still stubborn enough to hang on to what little they had left. The convoy held an odd mix, mostly rural farmers and the like but also a few city-dwellers. Even the backwoods type seemed out of their element on the road, but they seemed to have a bit more stamina that the "softer" townsfolk. A group by circumstance rather than any shared interest beyond safety in numbers, they clumped together into several individual factions within the larger whole. Zuko only interacted with them as much as necessity demanded.

The caravan moved slowly despite the unconcealed urgency to reach the safety of Ba Sing Se. Kai assured him the rate of progress (or lack thereof) was normal, and that they were actually making good time. The weather, for the most part, cooperated; which meant instead of slogging through mud they were trudging through dust. Zuko and Kai rode ahead and circled back to check the trail, but for the most part they walked to spare the ostrich horses. If they did run into trouble they would need the mounts relatively fresh.

Despite his earlier remark about the area "heating up", Kai didn't seem as concerned by the possibility of attack as the refugees. He pointed out that the most likely danger came from mountain bandits further up the road rather than Fire Nation patrols. The bandits preferred easy pickings and probably wouldn't risk targeting a large group with an armed escort when there were less troublesome possibilities. Still, he had seemed pretty adamant about finding a second guard to back him up, so that might have been an attempt to simply ease tension and prevent general panic. Scared people did stupid things.

The mercenary himself…_baffled_ him. Zuko spent most of his time with the swordsman but had an even flimsier sense of the man than the rest of the group. He wasn't deliberately evasive, just- hard to pin down. He kept his manner professional and executed his duties with efficient ease and familiarity. At the same time he was nonchalant, almost irreverent about the entire setup, and somehow even his competence seemed indifferent to the situation. He reminded Zuko of a street performer that caught his attention as a child, blithely juggling razor-sharp knives. Even that young he knew that unlike the fire magicians who worked with the illusion of danger the juggler dealt with the reality.

Despite worrying his interest might invite the same in return (the last thing he needed was someone prying into his personal affairs) he found himself musing out loud about that cavalier attitude. Kai merely smiled. The boy's tension had not gone unnoticed, obvious as it was.

"You need to lighten up, my friend. There's enough to keep you busy without worrying about all the things beyond your control."

He reached into his saddlebags, took out a nondescript ceramic jug, pulled out the stopper and tilted it in an obvious invitation. Zuko recoiled from the heavy scent of the liquor and shook his head. Kai shrugged, took a long swallow and replaced the baijiu in his bag.

That was the other thing Zuko couldn't figure out. Kai didn't drink constantly, but often enough. Yet he never seemed to lose his edge because of it. Zuko wasn't about to follow that example. He was leery of alcohol, with good reason. It blunted the senses and lowered personal boundaries he would rather stay up. He did not relish the prospect of letting something damaging slip while his judgment was impaired and his ability to defend himself or escape diminished.

Besides which Kai's baijiu nearly knocked him out by smell alone. Given how little the hard spirits seemed to affect the man, Zuko guessed he had the constitution of a Kimodo rhino. Although he _was_ a little grumpy in the morning, but he didn't really seem like a morning person to begin with. Zuko took full advantage of that.

Kai, for his part, had noted a few things about his "partner" as well. He wasn't in the habit of prying into other people's lives, but he also wouldn't have survived as long as he had without picking up on things. The boy was, as he had said, an impressive swordsman considering his youth. That, the presence of weapon but not work calluses on his hands and a few of his more unconscious mannerisms suggested a wealthy, privileged upbringing. Obviously he had fallen a long way since, but underneath or perhaps interwoven with his coarser traits were distinctive hints of _culture_. The refined calligraphy on the contract, the way he balanced his chopsticks in his hand and certain

figures of speech that didn't quite match the status suggested by his general appearance.

If Kai was right it was remarkable how well Shen had adjusted, even if he was a little… jittery. In the evenings the mercenary occasionally caught him staring at nothing, eyes completely distant, and knew better than to ask what memory played across his mind.

Other times the boy's gaze fell on the dancing campfire, and his usually guarded face tightened with an emotion Kai couldn't quite place. Something like disgust mixed with longing then pulverized into submission and used as mortar for the wall he kept between himself and the rest of the world.

Of course, the refugees usually traded stories around the fire at night, and by "traded stories" he meant "tried to outdo each other relating the horrors they had survived and the atrocities committed by the Fire Nation", so the reaction might stem from that. It was a morbid pastime, to be sure. Most of the adults did not try to engage the younger guard in the "competition", and he never offered more than the most general of personal information.

Kai had wondered for the first couple of days if the boy was a complete control freak, but it seemed not. If he were Kai would have driven him insane by now. Shen was simply _careful_, and looked after both ostrich-horse and personal affects with an attention which recalled a survival trait more than a personal obsession.

He also seemed to think Kai was a borderline drunken lunatic. By most standards Kai _was_ a drunken lunatic. It never failed to amaze him that anyone thought otherwise. Knowing what he was doing had no relation to sobriety or reason. He balanced his life on a fine line between (absolute chaos) freedom and just enough responsibility to provide a slight buffer when things went sour (and since even good things can't last forever, eventually they always did). His current occupation was an ideal compromise, and even gave him an air of respectability to add another layer of confusion to the mix.

On the practical end of things, where far too many would use the harsh spirits as liquid courage, Kai used it to soften his responses to the all-too-frequently inane personalities he encountered. It was the one downside to his livelihood; even normally nice people turned bitter when their lives had been destroyed, and those who had been jerks before turned downright _nasty_. A sour, middle-aged man called Minsheng had emerged as the de facto voice of the current group, and Kai maintained a constant low-grade buzz just to deal with him.

He wondered how the kid managed stone cold sober, but judging by the fact that he never relaxed, it would seem he _didn't_ and just bore that layer of discomfort on top of everything else. Now _that_ was insane.

Kai had figured out early on that if you didn't learn to roll with the punches the world would simply squash you flat. Since Shen was evidently bent, not broken, on some level he must have realized that as well. He just fought that particular insight with tooth and nail.

The mercenary shrugged. Either the kid would learn to accept the nature of the universe or he wouldn't. If he did, well and good. If not- well, that wasn't any skin off his back. He liked the boy well enough, but Kai looked out for one person and that was himself. Of course, as long as the kid was around it was hardly going out of his way to offer a few pointers. Especially since he was counting on Shen's abilities if the mere presence of two heavily armed men wasn't a strong enough deterrent further up the road.

Zuko finished his morning preparations and shoved his wrapped foot into his boot as Kai rounded the side of a wagon. For the most part the wound was entirely healed, but he didn't want to take chances on anyone noticing the telltale shackle scar and the bandage provided welcome support. Muffled voices trailed through camp, and Kai hid a smile as the teen stomped his foot to settle the boot properly. Then the voices rose in anger and there was a crash. Zuko flinched, and looked up at the mercenary.

"Shouldn't we do something about that?"

Kai snorted. "Hell no." At the boy's incredulous expression he added, "Don't let them try to drag you into their disputes, got it? We're here to deal with external security and navigation, not petty squabbles."

Shadowed eyes flicked to the growing argument, shouts augmented with improvised weaponry. A tallow candle exploded against the wagon. Help whickered and scratched the ground.

"You sure?"

A wooden bowl sailed past and Kai ducked just in time. Nonplussed, he straightened and nodded.

"Absolutely. Getting involved in _that_ just makes things uglier."

CRASH!

"And really do you _want_ to get involved?"

"No. No, I don't."

Those involved in the argument were just as happy the guards didn't step in.

The problem with second-hand equipment, Zuko decided several days later, was that no matter how useful it might be at maintaining cover it just wasn't in the best shape. The swords strapped to his back were relatively new, the leather grip of the hilts barely worn and the blades keen. His clothes could matter less. His boots should probably be replaced, but knowing what it would be like _not _to have them Zuko coveted the shapeless lumps like the priceless objects they were. The _saddlebags_, though-

The saddlebags had definitely seen better days, and as one of the straps ripped free under his hand he growled in frustration. Friction built in his hands and chest and rose, seeking release.

_Uh, no. I don't think so._

To be sure, nothing relieved irritation _quite_ like breathing fire... He swore rather inventively and at length, and the friction subsided petulantly, not entirely satisfied by the substitution. Zuko stuffed the torn strap into the bag. He had catgut somewhere and until they reached Ba Sing Se repair (or rather _attempted_ repair) was his only resort.

Kai raised his eyebrows at the outburst.

"You curse like a sailor."

Zuko momentarily froze and a response snapped free before he could think.

"What are you, my mother?"

_Damn my mouth. _

Kai just laughed. "I've heard worse. It's just interesting, is all. Most people curse like soldiers, or fishmongers. You follow?"

He did. He hadn't realized before that the _way_ he cursed marked him. Kai was bringing it to his attention, and he wasn't really sure how to take that warning. Finally he shrugged.

"So I've spent some time on dockyards. Remember where you found me?"

"I do. I also know you don't give out personal information lightly, thought you'd appreciate a heads-up."

"Thanks," he muttered.

Kai watched him mount and head to the front of the column, his expression slightly speculative.

To say Shen didn't give out personal information "lightly" was a serious understatement. Most of the moving camp didn't even have a sense of his name and simply called him "kid" or "hey you". No one really pressed the issue, though. A certain degree of his story was seared into his face for all to see. Some of the nosier kids didn't get the hint.

"Where are you from?"

Zuko looked down. The boy couldn't have been more than six. He wiped his nose with the heel of his hand and sniffed, obviously not going anywhere until he had an answer. Zuko turned his attention back to Help's tack.

"Far away."

"Oh. What happened to your face?"

"Firebender." It was true enough.

"Oh. Why?"

"I opened my mouth when I should have kept it shut." Also true.

"Oh."

Zuko braced himself for the "why".

"You wanna see my loose tooth?" The boy stuck his tongue against a canine and pushed, revealing it was anchored by a single strand of flesh.

Zuko blinked.

"That's, uh. That's great."

The boy's mother pulled him away with an apologetic glance. "It's not nice to bother people about things they might not want to talk about."

"Oh. Why?"

The world was not a perfect place. Kai had accepted this basic truth, so when the inevitable result of drinking caught up with him, Kai sighed, kicked the blankets off and shuffled a short way off the path. Not too far, though. The moon was waning, and it would be less than impressive if the caravan guide managed to get himself lost taking a leak.

Settling back into his bedroll, his gaze fell on the scarred teen, pale face tight even in sleep. His swords lay next to him, and Kai smiled ruefully. The one time the mercenary had tried shaking Shen awake it set off a chain reaction that ended with the boy on his feet, blades drawn and staring through sleep-hazed eyes at Kai flat on his back several feet away. Fortunately the boy woke himself in the mornings, although Kai did wonder how someone with such obvious insomnia and nightmare issues could rise so early every day. Habit, probably.

He was mumbling in his sleep again, soft unintelligible sounds that rarely solidified into anything identifiable. Kai turned away, then froze as a single word separated from the babble. Kai turned partway back, listening. The boy's voice was tremulous, almost pleading.

"Father…._please_…"

_And that's your cue to mind your own damn business._

Kai sighed and rolled over, sinking into unconsciousness by force of habit.

They sparred in the evening sometimes. Kai had a completely different style wielding a two-handed weapon than Shen's two single-handed blades but the practice kept them both sharp. It was also a great excuse to avoid the commiseration sessions by the fire.

"They don't actually do that, do they? Use captured soldiers as decoy infantry?"

Kai occasionally regretted letting it slip that he had served in the army before setting himself up freelance. As one more faceless grunt in the war machine he didn't have a better sense of the world than anyone else. Or maybe he did, and that's why he had managed to get out in one piece and make good on that escape.

"It's possible. Or it could be a scare tactic, army propaganda to encourage soldiers to fight to the death rather than get captured alive."

Zuko considered that. He knew Fire Nation soldiers rarely surrendered. In fact, he had been the only prisoner taken at the North Pole, mostly because he had been too preoccupied to even react when the Waterbenders found him. The Water Tribe hadn't really _done_ anything to him, but he couldn't be sure how much of that was evidence the Northern barbarians weren't as bloodthirsty as advertised and how much was direct interference by the Avatar to keep him unhurt. Technically, General Fong hadn't "hurt" him either…

He forced his attention to pick a new subject, and found himself wondering why it hadn't occurred to him sooner that if Azula was hunting the Avatar, then Aang the air-brained wonder couldn't be studying Earthbending in Omashu after all. Or he had already finished his training, but that was doubtful.

Then someone had mentioned (with no small amount of anger) that crazy King Bumi should have been replaced with someone more competent before the senile old coot had a chance to hand the city over on a golden platter. When that was followed by the information that Omashu was now _New Ozai_ and he recognized the Fire Nation governor's name as _Mai's father_ Zuko quickly excused himself to sit under a tree with his head in his hands as it threatened to explode.

Suddenly the rumors about a super-powerful Earthbending midget monster traveling with the Avatar didn't seem quite as absurd. Especially considering his other companions consisted of a highly emotional Waterbending prodigy and her ridiculously incompetent yet inexplicably effectual idiot brother.

It also didn't surprise him that his childhood friend's father had been selected as a colonial governor. Liwei Tso (profit and greatness/government board) was a born bureaucrat, both competent administrator and ambitious politician. Even as a naïve prince Zuko had recognized Liwei's support for Mai's affections carried overtones of political strategy. The constant political maneuvering was one of the things he definitely _didn't _miss from his old life.

When the road began to snake up into the mountains that spread to the north and east of Full Moon Bay, Kai noticeably increased his vigilance. They had crossed the plain without incident, but it was this last stretch that held the most dangers. Watching the foothills grow ahead of them Zuko couldn't help but compare the landscape to Youjing Caodi and judged the round slopes laughably easy to navigate.

As the flat grassland rose into hills the trial narrowed considerably, and further up split into two distinct paths. They stopped to rest at the fork before Kai decided on the lower trail. Zuko made no comment as the more experienced fighter suggested he leave his saddlebags in a supply wagon to lighten the load on his beast and simply laid them against Kai's own before mounting up. He pulled his swords partway from the sheath to check they slid free easily.

In contrast to the mostly open plain, the mountains were heavily wooded, frequent traffic the main reason their present trail stayed clear of the fast-growing underbrush. Some of the trees grew right to the edge of the path, occasionally bending to swoop over it. The fighters rode out ahead to scout the trail, a task all but pointless until now, where the landscape provided ample cover for an ambush.

Kai knew a lot of clichés regarding fighting in the woods were absolute bunk, but the hair at the back of his neck stood up as he noticed the stillness. Of course, usually it was the riders themselves that spooked the animals rather than some secondary presence, but this felt different, a sort of anticipatory silence that prompted him to pull his mount up short despite knowing it would give the game away to the watcher.

He barely noticed the boy pulling up beside him before a red- fletched arrow shrieked through the trees, straight for his heart.

Zuko knocked it aside with the blade of his hand, his entire body snapping to attention. Kai turned to him, mouth tight as he growled, "Bandits."

"No," Zuko breathed, tearing his eyes from the distinctive fletching on the shaft. "_Yu Yan_."

His hand tightened on the reins, expecting the air to fill with red-feathered arrows. When it didn't he realized they were facing a solitary archer, not the entire contingent. Nothing rustled the leaves but wind; the archer had made the first move and waited for the riders to make the second. That was the second indication Zuko needed to name the threat; ordinary Yu Yan would not take such initiative but he knew of at least one who had been reassigned- to cavalry.

Zuko had never met the legendary Rough Rhinos in person, but he knew their reputation and had no illusions they would leave the caravan alone. That didn't seem to be their target, however. There had been only one arrow, aimed at Kai and not himself…

If they thought killing the obvious witness was the only obstacle, it was possible they didn't realize the caravan even existed. With any luck he could keep it that way.

_ Isn't it lucky I'm wanted alive. _

"Get back to the others and get them out of here. NOW!"

Inadvertently, the unmistakable tone of command crept into in his voice, low as it was. He discarded the reins completely and urged his mount forward with his knees, giving a high-pitched whistle. The beast charged in the forest.

_You want me? Come get me._

Kai was halfway back to the convoy before he realized the boy had given _him_ an order, and he had followed it instantly. He hadn't taken orders from another man for years, but the reflex was still there. Damn. He could clarify the chain of command later. Right now he had more important concerns; he had heard the breathed response and recognized the name as a danger he really did not want to tangle with.

_I just hope Shen knows what the hell he's doing._

Zuko crashed through the undergrowth, trusting the ostrich-horse to find footing without his guidance as he scanned the trees for pursuit, briefly thanking whatever Spirit had inspired Brighteyes to teach the feather mop as many tricks as her ridiculously inventive mind could think of. The terrain of the bird's birth had taught him to be nimble and the mountain breed possessed a greater stamina than his lowland cousins. The sure-footed bird didn't even seem to notice they had left the trail to play hide and seek among the trees. Zuko ducked flat under a low hanging branch, and snapped a smaller one in passing. There was undoubtedly a trail of debris and crushed foliage all the way to the main path, but that was kind of the point.

_Come on you bastards. Where are you?_

Still keeping his eyes open, Zuko dredged up as much information as he could remember on the opponents he now faced. It was commonly agreed that the Rough Rhinos held an unusual autonomy within the Army. Nominally they answered to the Cavalry, but that was mostly a formality for the payroll clerks. The five members had been hand selected to infiltrate hot spots of resistance and demoralize the defending forces. They were considered highly effective.

The team had served under his Uncle years before, but Zuko only knew names and specialties- Colonel Mongke was a master level Firebender, Vachir a decorated archer, Ogodei used a weighted chain, Yeh Lu favored explosives and Kahchi a ringed guan dao. Beyond that, he had unsubstantiated rumors and Uncle's less than useless assessment that Kahchi was "a jasmine tea man".

He crashed into a rocky clearing, and his pursuers followed, taking positions to flank him. Zuko sucked air through his teeth.

_This might not have been the best plan_.

Luring the five-member team out of the woods and into the open worked a little _too_ well. Zuko drew a deep breath and vaulted from the saddle, barely evading a red fletched arrow.

_Let's review, shall we? You, a trained but not highly experienced teenager, are facing five highly trained opponents. Five highly trained opponents with five different fighting styles who are all fully grown men, decidedly experienced and have significant incentive for capturing you alive but not necessarily unharmed. In addition, you have to keep their attention here, on you, for as long as possible. Obviously you can't let them take you. And even though they have no qualms about hurting you, you aren't especially eager to fight your own countrymen are you? Even if they are by most accounts vicious honor-less dogs. Also, Firebending is out- you have to accomplish this with your swords._

_This is gonna be fun._

Colonel Mongke shot a fireball and he leapt out of the way, rolling up onto his feet just in time to see Help's eyes roll back as he reared away from the flames. With sinking horror Zuko realized while Brighteyes had trained the creature as best she could it hadn't occurred to the girl he might spook in an actual combat scenario. It hadn't occurred to Zuko to test that, either. Help was a swift, tireless mountain runner, not a war steed. Standing calmly by a contained fire was _not_ the same thing as live flames exploding at his scaled feet. Zuko winced as the bird screamed and bolted back the way they had come. He drew his swords and separated the blades.

_Yeah, this is gonna be fun…_

Kai hurtled down the trail, turning to pass by the side of the convoy rather than trying to halt from a flat out run. People froze as he approached, faces tightening as they caught his alarm.

"BACK! Get everyone back down the road."

"Are we under attack?!"

"Not yet. Not if we're lucky. You have to get the caravan turned around and back down to the fork, take the other path. Go, now!"

They jumped at his command. It never ceased to amaze him what a powerful motivator fear could be as the entire convoy switched direction and fled down the road far more quickly than any progress they had made toward their destination. He took position at the rear, circling to guard the retreat.

Someone called out: "Where's the boy?"

"Buying time."

Playing merry chase with Fire Nation soldiers was not a feat he envied, but he couldn't help but respect it. Although, how had Shen known they would chase him and not Kai…?

_Later. You have more important issues to deal with. _

_Don't I know it._

Zuko knew he couldn't win. Defeat was not an option. It wasn't the first time two contradictory ideas had taken root in his mind and refused to budge. There was a distinct difference between holding his own in a street side brawl and going toe-to-toe against a coordinated team. On the other hand, there was a lot more at stake here than his own safety, and he had always been something of a sucker for causes. And he was still on his feet. But his only form of transportation had fled the battle, and it was highly unlikely Kai could get everyone safely away and _come back in time to save him_ before his strength ran out.

_Come on, Kai. Get them away. Make this worth my-_ he stopped the thought dead in its tracks- _worth my __**time**__._

He had bruises in a dozen places already, minor burns on his hands and a sizable but fortunately shallow gash across one arm. Kahchi actually came out the worse for that encounter- Zuko had reduced the seven-foot polearm to a short handled blade, and the guan dao expert was an inexperienced swordsman.

There was too much adrenaline flooding Zuko's veins to really feel the damage, but he knew it would take its toll on his strength. On top of that, he was starting to notice the strain on his weakened leg and knew before much longer he would be noticeably favoring it. His left side was already a weak point and they would inevitably take advantage of that opening. Sweat slid down his forehead and into his eyes and he tried to blink it away.

Ogodei took advantage of his momentary distraction and Zuko felt his feet jerk out from under him as the weighted chain wrapped around his legs and tightened.

He clenched his teeth as he hit the ground, landing solidly on his back. One hand collided with a rock and his grip slackened, limp fingers grasping to regain control of the blade. The blow hadn't winded him, exactly, but his breath came ragged. Colonel Mongke dismounted and strode toward him. Zuko clenched his jaw; he was not going to let them take him this easily.

The southern trail wound higher than the northern but mostly parallel in the first few miles. Kai pushed the convoy past a steep ravine, the dirt path perilously close to the edge and completely exposed to sight. Just past that the trail turned inward and south, hidden by a large hill. He dismounted, went to grab his telescope and cursed as he remembered the saddlebags had been stowed. The caravan slowed and stopped, still ready to pick up at a moments notice but grateful for the respite.

One daring boy scrambled up the hill and cried out.

"I see them! I can see them, come look!"

"Keep it down," he barked. "Sound carries up here."

The boy shut up, but he was quickly joined by a large part of the group, mostly men. After wasting precious time searching for the right wagon, Kai retrieved his telescope and scrambled up the slope. Sure enough, across the gorge to the north Kai could easily spot a clearing, small dark shapes and the flash of orange flame. It was impossible to see much more for the distance, but as incredible as it seemed the boy was still on his feet and holding his own. Despite his warning about noise, the watchers broke into ragged cheers.

The cheers abruptly stopped when one of the Fire Nation soldiers managed to drag their champion down.

"No! Get up. Get up!"

Kai snapped the telescope open and held it to his eye just as the entire clearing erupted in flame. Face set in grim determination, the boy sheared straight through the chains and rose to his feet, twin swords reflecting the orange light as he lifted his head. He circled the blades before him, deflecting another fire attack before abruptly shifting into an _offensive_ stance and attacking in kind.

The anxious hum that had accompanied the watchers' silence shifted to something else entirely.

Kai had already guessed Shen was a Firebender. There wasn't any one thing that gave it away, but a collection of miniscule details that didn't mean anything unless you added them up and squinted real hard. The mercenary had kept such theories to himself, of course. It wasn't any of his business, for one thing. He also wasn't a complete idiot.

He was still slightly surprised at the obvious technique the boy displayed. Benders, as a rule, studied Bending as their combat form, and maybe basic hand-to-hand as a backup. There was a certain arrogance connected to the ability to manipulate one's native element, a sense of superiority over those unfortunate enough to have to rely on cold steel. Firebenders, of course, were the worst offenders on that front. So while it wasn't all that surprising that a swordfighter might have latent Bending abilities he hid for very obvious reasons, it was utterly shocking that a trained Firebender had developed a secondary weapon skill at all, much less to such a high degree.

Of course it would be too much to ask that his Bending abilities ran parallel or even surpassed his swordplay. The kid was good, but not exceptional, and Kai had seen enough Firebending to tell the difference. In a one on one fight he was probably evenly matched against the massive cavalry Bender, but he wasn't fighting a duel. There were four other fighters to contend with, one of them ranged-

Scratch that. Kai gave a snort of laughter at the tattooed archer's expression as a precise blast of fire sliced through his bow and bowstring, rendering the weapon useless. Now it was four to one, and the shortened chain wrapped around a komodo-rhino's foot as the boy dodged and rolled, landing a smarting blow from one red-hot blade against the beast's rump. As the soldier lurched from his saddle Kai noted wryly that the end of the chain attached to his own body, and now the panicked rhino dragged him from the fight. The weaponless archer followed, presumably to retrieve his teammate.

Three to one, now, but victory was by no means assured. Since there was no way he could reach the fight soon enough to affect the outcome short of growing wings and flying Kai could only watch and wait.

Meanwhile the residual shock had warn off completely behind him, and he could almost feel a rising tide spreading between the assembled watchers, and then infecting the entire group. That reaction was the other main reason he had kept his mouth shut about the boy's apparent abilities. Kai ignored it for now- although unlikely, it was possible the wave would crest and break rather than keep growing, and if the boy lost the fight it wouldn't matter one way or the other.

Afterward Zuko wasn't entirely sure how he had managed it. Anger had the unfortunate affect of blotting out higher reasoning even as it granted strength, and it wasn't the first time he had stopped to survey the aftermath and not remembered how all of it had occurred.

The end result, however, fell in his favor. Yeh Lu's explosives had backfired, compliments of Zuko's reflex to deflect attack back in the direction of origin. The helmed soldier slumped unconscious on the ground. The blade from the guan dao now resided in a tree trunk, its wielder nursing a concussion from that same explosive backlash and tangled in the kind of thorny bush that had ensnared Zuko's stolen coat weeks before. Mongke had been the last to fall; as a Firebender himself he was more proficient deflecting Zuko's return fire. The unpredictability of the younger fighter's movements and unorthodox combination of weaponry and form finally won out, but the victory was hard gained.

Zuko wearily retrieved his blades and backed out of the clearing. It wouldn't be hard to track him back to the main road, but there was nothing he could do about that. He stumbled forward, adrenaline still singing in his veins.

Kai carefully lowered his telescope, considering. The dockside brawl had been notable for the level of control the boy had displayed. This fight was notable for a certain lack of it. Oh, Shen had technique, but it only got him so far. Beyond that the kid simply cut loose and unleashed hell. He had pushed through and survived by simply refusing to admit defeat. The sheer magnitude of that kind of willpower was staggering. Of course, the battle was really only half the battle- the kid still had to make it out of there. And even if he did-

Kai collapsed the scope and considered the prevailing atmosphere of the caravan. He spared one last glance to the north before returning to the wagons for the necessary preparations. He'd never had a day quite like _this_ before, but it wasn't the first time things didn't go according to plan. He'd learned to adapt. No one gave him a second thought as he rummaged among the saddlebags.

Night had long fallen by the time Zuko caught up, the sky black and moonless. He ached all over, his arm stung, his ankle threatened to buckle at any moment, and as he stumbled toward the beckoning glow of the camp his breath came in ragged gasps like a dying fish. He wanted nothing more than to simply fall over, curl up, and go to sleep. It was a dream shattered by the words that greeted his return.

"You shouldn't have come back here, Firebender."

His head snapped up.

_Well that doesn't sound good._

It wasn't. Especially when the follow-up was not only more in the same vein, but worse. Much worse. He couldn't even begin to form any kind of defense against the torrent of hatred that assaulted him. His mind strained to break free of debilitating shock as he simply stood and stared, mouth slightly open and his good eye frozen wide. And it just kept coming.

_Demon spawn? That's just-_

Pain exploded in his chest and he gasped, bowing slightly forward. It was a sharp, stabbing kind of hurt, and he instinctively reached for whatever had pierced him- and found nothing there.

_What the he-?_

There was a rock at his feet. A fist-sized rock. That someone had thrown at him. It hurt to breathe, but he straightened up anyway. There were more people holding rocks, some larger than the one that had been thrown. Some of the unarmed men looked as though they would prefer to tear him apart with their bare hands.

_You have got to be kidding me. This-_

_- is what a lynch mob looks like._

His mind split into several simultaneous reactions. One part that looked suspiciously like a small child sank down and hugged knees to chest, staring blankly and whimpering. Another part erupted into fury that the ignorant unwashed peasants would turn on him after everything he had done for them. A cynical part stood to the side, arms crossed, eyebrow raised and wondering really, what did he expect? But by far the overwhelming reaction was a simple encompassing "Oh crap".

He knew better. He knew he couldn't trust anyone, knew the risk he ran hiding in the Earth Kingdom. Somehow he had assumed that threat automatically involved army support rather than angry displaced civilians taking matters into their own hands. He had been unbelievably naïve _stupid_ to think they would even stop to consider why he had done so or the fact that he risked his life on their behalf. None of that mattered. They didn't even know who he was, but he was a Firebender, and therefore a monster, and deserved to die.

_Don't. Please don't. _

_SHUT UP! Quit whining like a sniveling coward, snap out of it, and get the hell out of here._

That was by far the most sensible response, but it was much easier said than done. They had driven him away from the road and into the camp proper, all avenue of escape blocked by the mass of a human wall. Zuko stumbled backward, eye still wide, one hand pressed to his chest over the forming bruise. The mob advanced. Zuko reached for something, anything he could use, and felt warmth against his back. Both sides froze as they reached the same realization: they had cornered the Firebender against the campfire.

Zuko spread his fingers at his sides. He could feel the flames twisting behind him, feeding from his emotions and feeding him energy in return. It was far easier to manipulate pre-existing flame than generate his own. He could turn that fire against them, turn it to his will and reduce the entire camp to charcoal simply by fueling the flames and then relinquishing control and letting them spread. Both sides knew it.

_I don't want to fight you. I don't want to die- I really, really don't want to die- but I don't want to fight you either._

He knew the stalemate would pass, but for now the mob hesitated and he cast his eyes desperately over the assembled faces, searching for some hope of deliverance among their number. Surely there was at least one person he could appeal to, if he could make his mouth work, surely-

Kai.

The mercenary wasn't there. Zuko flicked his eyes up, noting a few stragglers standing back near the wagons, unwilling to participate but equally unwilling to stand against the majority. A stocky middle-aged farming couple. An old man with a gnarled cane. A mother kneeling by her child, turning him into her shoulder to shield his eyes. And there, there he was. The fighter held himself at attention- prepared but not committed to battle. He met Zuko's gaze and held it momentarily, then glanced significantly to his right, leading the desperate teen's attention to the ostrich-horse holding perfectly still beside him, saddlebags bulging and reins hanging free. Zuko recognized Help immediately, and recognized Kai's intent just as swiftly.

His face softened momentarily, and then he called up the last of his flagging strength and seized control of the fire, raising his arms, fingers spread wide. It rose in a roaring tower, impossibly bright, and he slitted his eyes and watched the mob shrink back, pupils contracting against the brilliance.

He threw his arms down.

Every flame in camp went out.

Zuko snapped his eyes open and dove forward into the night-blind mob, shoving his way through. He vaulted into the saddle and vanished into the night.


	21. Chapter 20

Hello old friends and new! Thank you all for a wonderful welcome and most helpful reviews! I will repeat, since the question has come up several times, that I published all the previous chapters in one go because I had a backlog from the past several months. From now on I will update here at the same time as on ASN and deviantArt. I don't really have a set update schedule, but I do _try_ not to keep people waiting forever. I _do_ have other responsibilities to juggle, though, so I can't always make this the priority and sometimes the characters themselves are very stubborn and noncooperative...

In general, if anyone notices glaring errors or obvious typos, please tell me _where they are_ so I can fix them! I have about 200 single-spaced pages to search through otherwise, and I'd much rather spend that time writing. ;)

Kai had a headache. _Not_ a hangover; ironically enough, it was as close to the _opposite_ of a hangover as one could ever achieve while still including abject misery and severe irritation. If anything, the swordsman was overdosing on sobriety. For the first time in a very long while the edges of the world were sharp and hard, compliments of the blasted plain _water_ he had drunk all the previous day- just in case. There was a place for trusting in luck, and a place for planning ahead, and Kai practiced both. But damn if he didn't regret the necessity on occasion.

Now, his headache had a very specific cause, and that cause was Minsheng. The scrawny, loudmouthed chicken-pig actually had the gall to demand why he had let the boy escape. Ordinarily Kai was not the sort of person who put much stock in abstract concepts like altruism. Even his time in the army had been basic preservation- it soundly beat the alternative. Some things, however, even an honestly self-serving man knew just weren't done. And the petulant runt was pissing him off.

"Let me get this straight. You want me to feel guilty you _don't_ have blood on your hands?"

The entire assembly froze, dead silent, and Kai continued.

"I understand this might be a mite difficult for your limited intelligence to comprehend, but I did you a favor, little man. I'm doing you a favor now, sticking around."

"I paid you good money-"

"Money has no allegiance, good or bad. And you", Kai pushed one calloused finger against the puffed chest, "broke contract when you decided to attack an exhausted teen _in my employ_. Who, I may add, upheld his end of the deal by protecting your miserable hides. He kept his word, you didn't. Simple as that. I have no obligation to stay, but fortunately for you sorry lot it's near the end of the trail anyway. Plus you have kids, and I have standards."

"That _Firebender_-"

"Used himself as bait. Or didn't you notice that part? I wonder what you thought bludgeoning him to death with rocks would accomplish, exactly. Did you think it would ease your pain? Restore your homes and livelihoods, bring your dead back to life?"

The swordsman's calm drawl slipped into scathing mockery, and he spat on the ground at Minsheng's feet. The smaller man stepped back, his face twisting from incredulity to outrage.

"You- you're on their side! You're a bleeding Black Flame _sympathizer_-"

The accusation faltered as Kai's hand closed around Minsheng's throat, not hard enough to cause damage but tight enough to scare. The much larger, much stronger, and _much_ angrier man shoved the smaller against the side of the nearest wagon. Kai had served his country faithfully and had the scars to prove it. More importantly, _no one_ besmirched his name and got away with it. He might be a selfish ne'er-do-well but by the Spirits he was an _honest_ one.

"I've had just about enough of you," he hissed, teeth clenched. "I understand that you all feel real set upon by the evils of the world, but I can guaran-damn-_tee_ you I have seen worse." Kai stepped back, lip curling as he surveyed the camp. "I don't care what you've suffered. I have no sympathy for bloodthirsty cowards who seek to relieve their own pitiful misery through human sacrifice."

Kai didn't particularly care if his words made an impression, but judging by the dawning horror on a number of faces at least some of the group felt them hit home.

"But- he's a Firebender…"

Kai shrugged. "Bleeds red like everybody else."

"Says the Fire Nation _lackey_," Minsheng spat, one hand held to his throat. "Hell, the little freak is probably a spy."

Kai laughed at that, loud and hard. "A spy?" he gasped, wiping his eyes. "With that face?" He suddenly went serious. "No."

"We're supposed to just take your word for that?"

"Considering I'm the only person here with military training, yeah. But if you really need me to spell it out for you, he's simply too _remarkable_ to make a useful agent. Makes a damn fine distraction, though. Now unless you have anything else to waste my time, the sun is up and daylight don't exactly store. "

Approximately half the camp got the hint and moved to pack up, only to be stopped by Minsheng's imperious counter-command.

Kai pressed his lips together and smiled icily, leaning forward right into the shorter man's face. "I really hate having to repeat myself, but I don't take orders from you little man. Furthermore, you aren't in charge anymore. From now on, I am. Understand?"

"This is mutiny!"

"You really are that dumb, aren't you? Mutiny refers to a conspiracy of two or more people within a larger group to seize control from a superior officer. Usually happens on ships, with sailors. _This_ is called "relieving you of command". And if you don't understand why I'm taking over this sorry outfit, in case you hadn't noticed, _I'm_ the one who knows where to go and I'm the one _wearing a big damn sword_. Soon as we reach town you'll be rid of me, but until then what I say goes. Now pack it up and MOVE OUT."

They might obey grudgingly, but obey they did. As Kai returned to his interrupted preparations one of the refugees approached him cautiously. He recognized her as the mother with the little boy who couldn't take a hint.

"Why didn't you try to stop them last night? You could have. You could have made them listen…"

Kai shook his head. "Wouldn't have worked last night. Wouldn't have had the same effect. Didn't reach all of 'em anyway. Besides," he turned to cinch the girth on his saddle one notch tighter, "it's better that the boy is a far from those buzzard-wolves as possible. And I don't need any more blood on my hands."

They hadn't gotten very far before someone noticed the odd plume of smoke behind them. Rather than spreading into the wide haze that heralded a wildfire, it stayed a thick black column on the horizon and after several tense moments thinking his mind was playing tricks with perspective Kai realized he wasn't imagining things; the smoke was advancing. Against the wind, no less, and at the current rate the convoy had no hope of outrunning it.

"It's Fire Nation, isn't it?" A frightened voice called out. "One of their infernal machines."

"Probably." Kai agreed. "It's possible they're headed elsewhere. We should keep going regardless. No point wasting daylight."

"But what if it's coming for us?"

He shrugged.

"Not a hell of a lot _to_ do. If they pass us by, well and good riddance. If not, we'll deal with that when it happens."

It soon became obvious that the Fire Nation whatever-it-was definitely _was_ following them, and gaining fast. _This ought to be interesting_, the swordsman thought as the source of the smoke plume crested a ridge into sight and thundered toward them. The machine looked something like the great public monorail of Ba Sing Se, only shorter, made of metal and propelled on treads. It flattened a path as it went, knocking trees from its path and flattening lesser vegetation under the plow-like spike at its front.

The great metal beast ground to a halt beside the caravan, hissing steam, and a door split from the side of the middle section to lower into a ramp. The thick steel plating settled against the ground with a resonant thud, and the crowd recoiled. Outlined in the open doorway stood three adolescent girls, the foremost dressed in deep, blood red silk and bearing her country's unmistakable three- pointed flame in her immaculately arranged topknot. One white hand rested on her hip, and her full, painted lips curved in a faint smirk.

_Princess Azula, I presume?_

Kai took a moment to study the two figures flanking the Fire Lord's daughter. The rumors had mentioned the ruthless prodigy, but not similarly aged companions.

The girl on the princess's right was tall and willowy and the practical cut of her clothes suggested that despite her pallid skin she was no soft court lady. She had a long face, thin nose and even thinner lips pressed in an impassive line. Her face held no more expression than a mask, and that's exactly what it was. Behind that façade her pale eyes burned, but gave no indication of intention. Kai noted absently that she appeared to be wearing army boots.

The girl on the left seemed the complete opposite. Her face, and indeed her entire figure, was round and filled with curves. She wore her hair in a simple braid at the crown of her head, her extremely pink clothes boasted a childish playfulness at odds with the maturity of her stature and her wide grey eyes filled an astonishing amount of her face. She had a small, almost button nose and a wide easy smile disconcertingly out of place considering the present company and setting.

Kai didn't bother wondering how the two were bound to the Princess- the important (and at least to him, obvious) part was that were indeed bound to her service. He turned his attention back to their master.

Her Royal Highness surveyed the assembled refugees with open disdain, the refined features of her face marred by the haughty tilt of her chin and the chill in her brilliant gold eyes.

"My my my," she purred, examining her long, pointed fingernails and then buffing them on the spotless silk of her shirt. Her voice dripped with malice, but also a predator's amusement. This one liked to play with her food. "Whatever have we here? Refugees? How sad. Of course, if your people weren't worthless dirt to begin with, you might have held on to your homes. What a shame."

A nameless voice made brave by the human wall hiding him challenged, "We don't have anything left for you to take!"

Azula's smirk grew wider. "Oh, that's not true…" She let her gaze linger on one of the scrawny kids clenching grubby hands into his mother's skirt and let the implication sink in. "You still have a great deal I could take. However, I'm feeling generous today, so I'll make you a deal. Either you tell me everything I want to know or I leave your charred corpses for the crows to fight over. Your choice."

There was a subdued murmur of assent. What else could they do? The predatory smile grew wider.

"I'm looking for a fugitive."

The right-hand girl drew a scroll from inside her wide sleeves and handed it over without any visual prompt. Kai caught a flash of steel and dull black leather on her wrist. The Princess unrolled the scroll with a flick of her hand and Kai's thought process was instantly derailed from wondering just what purpose the mask-faced girl served.

The old man in the top half seemed only vaguely familiar, and obviously wasn't the subject of interest. It was the second face on the wanted poster that struck him, and everyone else. A collective gasp rose from the crowd.

The boy's face was rounder, his clothes unmistakably Fire Nation and the scar made painfully evident by the partially shaven head, but the flat ink painting was without a doubt the same person Kai knew as Shen.

His mind quickly flipped through all the bits and clues he'd picked up about the boy. Wealthy background. Trained fighter. Paranoid as all hell. Firebender. Given the new information, and the situation in general, Kai's reaction was understandably eloquent:

"Huh."

***(break?)

Zuko had no idea where he was, and glad for it. He had abandoned the road in a rocky area and could only pray he hadn't left a trail in his reckless flight. It didn't make sense for Kai to give him an avenue of escape only to track him down later, except it kind of did. He shook his head. He actually liked the enigmatic mercenary, but that didn't mean he could afford to trust the man.

The secondary burst of adrenaline had lasted long enough to get him out of immediate danger, and after a fitful rest he had set out again vaguely east, only stopping when the ostrich-horse tired. He knew sooner or later he'd have to stop and consider his next move, patch himself up. Part of him really didn't want to know the extent of the damage, but when he found a likely stream he dismounted, taking care not to let Help drink too soon. He couldn't afford to lose him, even if the bird was useless in a fight. He tethered the feathered beast near the water and sat down heavily on the bank.

_It's not fair. I was trying to help. I was just trying to help…_

He shook his head and stood up again, swaying unsteadily. This was not the time to drown in self-pity. He had to keep his head, pull through.

_Yeah. Like always. What does it say that I actually have a set response for shit like this happening to me?_

_That you aren't as stupid as most people think. An actual moron would freeze up and not know what to do. You do. So do it._

He unfastened the saddlebags awkwardly, nearly dropping them on the ground before sinking down beside the battered leather. His clothes were stiff with sweat and blood and he flinched as the simple process of removing his shirt re-opened the gash on his arm. He pulled a change of clothes from the pack and sank into the water.

The stream was fairly deep, and deliciously refreshing compared to the muggy mountain air. He scrubbed away as much of the travel grime as possible, which left him not as clean as he would have liked as aching muscles, assorted bruises and general exhaustion all took their toll on mobility and strength. Still, it was better than nothing.

He dumped Hoshi's medicines on the ground, slathering numbing salve on the aching mass that was his chest. It hurt to breathe, but since it wasn't a tight stinging kind of hurt he decided nothing was broken. Thank the Spirits for small miracles. Injuries treated and bound (he had to use his teeth to tie the bandage on his arm) he shoved the whole mess back in the bag to sort out later. He pushed the bag aside and tugged open its mate, spilling the contents onto the ground. An unfamiliar object rolled out and bumped against his leg, something vaguely bottle-shaped and wrapped in crumpled paper.

Face knit in puzzlement, he gripped his fingers around the cool cylinder and picked it up, surprised by the weight. Somewhat stunned by the appearance of an object mixed in his things that _clearly_ didn't belong there, he unwrapped it to reveal a bottle of baijiu, a scribbled note and a hand drawn map. Zuko felt himself shake in incredulous laughter as he read the first line.

_You sure make an impression on people_.

_Stick to the lesser known paths- I've marked the caravan route in red so you can avoid it. If you're still going to Ba Sing Se, head for the Weeping Demon in the lower ring near the southern gate. Owner knows me, won't ask questions. Meet you there- got to lose the baggage first. Keep your head down. Good luck._

The paper crinkled in his hand, and Zuko let it fall to the ground. The paranoid part of his mind was louder again, and it kept insisting not to be fooled by appearances, that it was a trap. Either the map would lead him straight into an Army encampment, or the tavern owner was actually in the pay of the City Guard, or the information was good but once he was settled in Ba Sing Se and Kai caught up with him the mercenary would take advantage of Zuko's lowered guard and cash in _then_.

Why couldn't anything be simple?

Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose, eyes pressed shut. Nothing ever came easily, but he was used to that by now, wasn't he? And it wasn't like he had any sort of plan in mind anyway. He could use the information to get into the city at least. The population could surely hide one scarred teenager, and he could still keep his ear to the ground. Sighing, he turned his attention back to the basic necessity of food. Help nudged his beak against Zuko's shoulder and settled to the ground. Still stuffing his face, the boy let himself relax into the feathered mass behind him, considering.

On a certain level he wasn't surprised in the least that Help had returned to the caravan after his untimely desertion- the bird's reasoning had probably paralleled Zuko's own: get out of danger, head for safety. Thinking the caravan would remain safe territory was very faulty logic on his part, but it wasn't like he'd had any alternatives.

And he didn't really have a better alternative now. He swallowed a mouthful of half-chewed bread and ran a hand through his hair. Help whuffled, and Zuko regarded him for a moment before reaching out to scratch the soft feathers just above the beak.

"I guess we're still going to Ba Sing Se after all. Try not to run off on me again, huh? I'm trusting _your_ instincts on this, bird brain."

He settled back against his living pillow and stared at the blue vault of the sky until he couldn't stand the brilliance. Then he closed his eyes, and within minutes the soothing rise and fall of the beast's breathing lulled him to sleep. Help nipped at his hair and then laid his head on the ground, curled around the boy.

***

Any fighter worth the energy to spit knew you wouldn't last long if you couldn't recover from an unexpected development, so it didn't take long for the shock to pass. Actually, the new information made far more sense than Kai especially cared to realize. The Princess held the poster perfectly still, the skin around her eyes tight as she surveyed the reactions before her. Her imperious voice filled the clearing, deadly calm.

"I know he was traveling with you, and I know he was in the area just yesterday. So don't bother trying to deny it."

As the only person present visibly armed Kai knew he'd get singled out for attention soon enough, and decided to beat the arrogant Royal to the punch. Nothing messed with the power-mad like "freely cooperating" before they had a chance for coercion. He crossed his arms over his chest so his hand wouldn't fall to its usual rest on the hilt of his sword and lifted a single finger in a minimal wave to catch Her Highness's attention, keeping his attitude relaxed.

"Yeah, he was here. Left last night, though."

"Heading which way?"

"Down the road, initially." Kai casually scratched the day-old growth on his cheek. In all the mess earlier he'd forgotten to shave. "Of course, he could have turned south, or doubled back in the dark. Hard to tell."

"And you have no idea which he would choose."

Kai shrugged. "Can't read minds, Princess."

She thrust the notice back at her vassal, who casually smoothed the creases left by the princess's grip and rolled it into a neat tube. Azula strode down the ramp and stopped within striking distance. Kai watched her advance and decided she'd probably be a very pretty girl if she quit trying to act like she was already a grown woman.

"Talk to me," Azula commanded.

"Waayeeell," he drawled. "The kid kept to himself, mostly. Carried his own weight. More than that, can't say I par-tic-u-lar-ly cared."

She searched his face, gold eyes boring into his brown as though she could compel answers by the intensity of her gaze alone. He didn't look away, didn't even sweat.

"No," Azula sneered at last, "I don't suppose you would have."

Kai suppressed a smile. _That's right, you arrogant bitch. No lesser mortal could possibly fool you_.

She turned away, and then snapped back around, one long fingered hand rising in a graceful arc to slap his face. Kai had to admit she had a pretty good arm- for a teenaged girl. Frankly, his mother had smacked him harder for stealing moon peaches from the neighbors. The princess simply did not possess the muscle mass to back up her predatory nature. Of course, she _was_ a Firebending prodigy and as blood trickled down his face and his cheek started to sting Kai realized she also had _claws_. Azula held his chin with the tips of her nails and turned his face.

"You wouldn't hold out on me, would you?"

"Told you, he kept to himself. Didn't draw attention, other than that damn huge scar."

An oddly satisfied smile twisted her face at the mention of the disfigurement and she released him.

_What happened to your face? _

_Firebender… I opened my mouth when I should have kept it shut._

Kai's fingers tightened over his arm as the exchange replayed in his head. He hadn't paid much heed when he had heard the Fire Nation's Crown Prince had gotten himself kicked out of favor, hadn't thought too hard about the implication that the Princess was hunting the Avatar and "Traitors to the Throne". He wasn't surprised the Firelord's heir apparent was serving her father's bidding, but realizing the little creep derived satisfaction from her own brother's misfortune- that was just sick. All the more reason to be as unhelpful as possible, even if his debt to the kid was technically paid.

Despite the earlier tirade he couldn't even pretend surprise when Minsheng pushed forward, swelled with self-importance and all but gushing to provide information to the Fire Nation Princess. Typical self-righteous hypocrite.

"He was using a fake name, Your Worship. Something unremarkable. Not Li, though. I'd have remembered another Li. Chin maybe? Or Chan? Something common like that."

Kai couldn't help the small surge of vindication as Azula rounded on the bootlicking fink, eyebrows drawn.

" I do not recall giving you permission to speak, worm," she sneered, and stalked back to the ramp in disgust.

That Zuko had used a false identity was blatantly obvious, and if he had the forethought to adopt a cover name he could choose another just as easily. It was much more effective to search by physical description. The princess considered the cowering herd; the mercenary bothered her. He should keep his place. The fool didn't give her due respect.

Then again, what did she expect from common riffraff? Azula sniffed- she would never lower herself to the depths her brother had sunk. It was disgraceful, really. His actions shamed the entire line. More like the entire country.

"Let's go, ladies," she murmured.

"Where?" Mai inquired, her voice dead flat.

"East, of course. Ba Sing Se is the last real obstacle to domination, and we know the Avatar is in the city. Besides, my brother is far too straightforward to change tactics unless he absolutely has too. He lacks- _cunning_. And where else could he possibly hide?"

"Point," Mai agreed. Azula sighed, and then turned to Ty Lee. The bubbly acrobat snapped her attention away from the assembly.

"Inform the engineer we will be departing immediately." The princess flicked her gaze back at the cowering peasants and sneered. "There's nothing here worth my time."

"Okay!" Ty Lee gushed, and bounded toward the head of the tank–train. Mai and Azula lingered at the top of the ramp for a moment. Keeping her voice unaffected, Mai briefly glanced toward the refugees and murmured, "You're letting them go just so you don't have to hear about it from Ty Lee, aren't you?"

Azula rolled her eyes and waved a perfectly manicured hand.

"What happens to a handful of unwashed commoners is hardly my concern."

Mai took that as a yes. Listening to the spastic acrobat mope in enforced proximity was hardly a thrilling prospect.

Azula abruptly changed the subject. "Have you finished the assignment I gave you?"

The princess had been far from pleased to learn that her useless brother had bested the Rough Rhinos single-handedly. Such a humiliating defeat shamed the entire military effort. They also had very little to offer in the way of intelligence, although it was somewhat intriguing to discover that not only had Zuko improved in Bending technique, he also developed significant skill with dual blades.

Given the princess's mental acuity and access to high security intelligence reports, it hadn't taken long to add the pieces together and discern the identity of the mysterious Blue Spirit. Upon realizing her brother's audacity Azula had _momentarily_ expressed something as close to admiration as she was capable of bestowing on anyone but her exalted father and then promptly reverted to her usual contempt. It was a valiant effort to let nothing stand in his way, but as with every other endeavor her brother undertook, ultimately futile. Zuko just didn't have what it took to succeed. He was, and had always been, a born failure.

Although superfluous since Zuko had already been deemed a traitor both for dereliction of duty and continuing to resist arrest for that crime, Azula sent a detailed report of her conclusions. No one could ever accuse the princess of not being thorough. So when the Rough Rhinos offered the few items they had obtained during their attempted capture of the Avatar and his allies, she had curled her lip but accepted them, and promptly delegated the necessary examination to Mai. The taciturn noble had in turn ignored everything but the battered journal.

Mai had never understood the appeal of such customs. What kind of moron wrote down their thoughts so someone else could read them? It wasn't as if a sheet of paper had the ability to hold one's confidences. True, nobles often composed memoirs later in life, and it was rumored the Royal family kept a hidden archive of personal accounts written to detail the events of their reign with the logic that future leaders might benefit. As far as Mai could tell, if such a store existed no one consulted it, since both Fire Lord Ozai and Fire Lord Azulon (may he rest in Agni's embrace) instituted policies based off of general traditions and personal whim rather than any written precedent.

Not that Mai judged that. It would be unforgivably presumptuous to question the authority of the head of state. The Fire Lord _was_ the Fire Nation, and his word was law. That supremacy was not only accepted as a matter of course but actively _revered_.

As the close personal friend of the princess, Mai had a slightly different perspective on the Royal family than most, but still had to admit that even hearing Azula refer to the monarch as "Dad" couldn't dispel the tangible air of _power_ that surrounded him. To put it bluntly, Fire Lord Ozai scared the shit out of her. He didn't seem quite- human.

Or maybe she only felt that way because at age twelve she had just started to consider the possibility that if Zuko really liked her back and everything went perfectly the intimidating figure might become her father-in-law… only to have that reality yanked from under her dreamer's feet like a magician's rug when he maimed his very flesh and blood with his own hands before throwing him out of the country altogether. And then charged him with a task that was painfully, _transparently_ intended to either kill him off or keep him conveniently "occupied" for the rest of his life. No one actually expected the Avatar to return, after all.

And if Mai ever wrote those thoughts down and they were discovered, she'd be toast.

She was not bitter. It was just the nature of the world she lived in. No point investing emotion on foregone conclusions. She didn't waste emotions when Azula took her for granted, either. She merely complied. It was, after all, the only reasonable course of action. So at the mention of her current "project" Mai only sighed.

"I haven't finished reading yet. It's fairly tedious."

"I'd hardly expect otherwise. I have to admit I'm surprised the barbarian is even literate. Still, even the musings of a lower intellect can prove useful."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Which is why I gave it to you and not Ty Lee. She'd have gotten distracted too easily. Will you be joining us in the forward car?"

"No. It's easier to focus without interuptions."

"A point. I'll leave you to it, then," Azula replied, leaving Mai alone for the time being. She stood back as the ramp settled into place and sealed against the wall.

What Azula meant, of course, was that Ty Lee, with her big heart, depressingly tolerant attitude towards the lower strata of humanity and obvious crush on the writer's brother, might be swayed to sympathy by what lay on the travel-stained pages. Azula had deemed examination necessary but not important enough to handle personally, and therefore entrusted it to Mai.

This was a crucial miscalculation. To be sure the first few pages had been nothing short of painful. Mai was, after all, a well-bred noblewoman despite her unusual interests and abilities, had received the best education money could buy, and held a worldview consistent with that station. The girl's calligraphy, she noted in her normal detached manner, was careful and even but essentially primitive, as could only be expected.

The journal started as a very basic ledger, a tally of purchases and donations that indicated both the girl's unfamiliarity balancing a budget and the intelligence required to realize such an attempt was necessary. So the Southern peasant had a brain, even if her penmanship was atrocious. Then a little way in the entries suddenly changed to something much more personal.

_I can't believe we finally made it. The city is so beautiful, and there are so many people. It's good to be back around familiar Water Tribe things, even if it does hurt a little. I know the Southern Tribe never had a central city like this, but thinking about home, how small the village is now compared to the stories Gran Gran tells, makes me realize how much we lost. How much the Fire Nation took from us. Chief Arnook seems nice. I can't wait to meet the Water Bending Master. I'm finally going to learn from a proper teacher!_

_Sokka has absolutely no chance with the Princess._

Upon reaching these accounts Mai had simply sighed, spread a clean sheet of parchment on the table, readied ink and brush and continued, carefully analyzing the entries for useful information that she wrote out in clear, concise strokes for Azula to review. She read on, emotionally disaffected by the author's tribulations.

_Water Tribe exhibits_ s_exist practices, separate Bending traditions for men and women_, she wrote. _The Avatar is vulnerable while accessing the Spirit World through meditation. Confirmed that Zhao succeeded killing the Moon in mortal form, replacement form_ _granted by self-sacrifice of tribal princess "Yue". T. Iroh possibly involved in spiritual conversion. Confirmed T. Iroh attacked A. Zhao and task force. Avatar or Waterbender in possession of water from the oasis, rumored special properties. Attempted coercion of T. Zuko by Waterbender. Waterbender partly trained in healing, extent of abilities unclear…_

As she continued, Mai's eyes narrowed, not in speculation or a reaction to dim light (the compartment was well illuminated) but a growing irritation. She pressed her lips together and tightened her grip on the brush, ignoring the sensation. She scanned the girl's petty ranting about Zuko's uncooperative nature, noting the frequent but frustratingly vague references to some kind of plan involving the exiled prince as well as the tantalizing third-hand hints of Zuko's changed character. He seemed so…angry. She only wished she could tell how much was the person he had become in the last three years and how much was due to circumstance.

_Azula did not give you this assignment to speculate about your lost childhood crush. Pull it together._

She managed to regain her focus but the unsettling frustration remained. The last entry written was dated shortly after the first time Mai had encountered the trio in Oma- _New Ozai_. She grudgingly admitted that the ploy to empty the city of Earth Kingdom residents by feigning illness had a certain undeniable brilliance. Learning it had been the Water Tribe boy's idea made her reconsider his threat level, and jotted a quick note. The part that really caught her attention, though, was the description of their first meeting. Specifically, the girl's thoughts regarding Mai's baby brother.

_I understand why Aang returned the boy. We didn't mean to take him, and it caused no end of trouble, but I can't help wondering if he wouldn't have been better off as far from those heartless jackal-sharks as possible. I doubt the ransom note was even real- it was just a trick to lure us into a trap, and we fell for it._ _Such a sweet little boy deserves better. He's proof that the people of the Fire Nation aren't born evil- they learn it. They're taught it. Like that girl with all the knives, not even showing the slightest concern for her brother. If she even really was his sister, and that wasn't just another trick too._

Mai had long ago learned that it was in her best interest not to let on how she felt. There was nothing more dangerous than expressing a strong opinion, or even a passing fancy. Especially around Azula.

Over the years that mask of indifference had become ingrained into her personality. She couldn't afford to show her interest, and so the interest withered and died. Eventually not showing interest morphed to only expressing _dis_interest. She had turned herself into an efficient, acerbic machine, and it almost didn't hurt. Almost, because under the unfeeling front she presented to the dreary world and occasionally believed herself, at her core a spark of genuine emotion remained. And that spark flared from a tiny speck to a raging bonfire.

The Water Tribe girl knew nothing about her or her family. Heartless? Her father had earned the wrath of the Princess herself by putting his son's safety above the duties of his position. It was far beyond his place to even _consider_ a hostage exchange for that cackling old lunatic, and it was only Mai's longstanding friendship with Azula and the opportunity provided by the exchange that had protected her parents from charges of criminal incompetence if not outright treason. And this brat dared assume they cared nothing for their child!

The Water Tribe girl had no concept of the deadly game courtiers played their entire lives, _with_ their lives. Azula might be her friend, but Mai was not so much a fool to believe childhood affections afforded her any real protection. Azula was the Princess first and foremost, Mai's friend and ally always second. She might veil her orders, but now as always every word that spilled from her painted lips carried the weight of the Dragon Throne. There was not, and never had been, an "Imperial suggestion".

As for not caring about Tom Tom, well, Mai could hardly be expected to share interests with a toddler but that wasn't the same thing as indifference. And Azula had exploited the opportunity in more ways than one. Mai could forgive seizing the chance to lay a trap for the Resistance agents. Considering one of them turned out to be the Avatar that was more than justified. Except for the little bit where her "old friend" had also seized the opportunity to test Mai's loyalty and dedication. At the time Mai had been confident she could gain the upper hand and retrieve the drooling hair-puller, but the message was clear- Azula wanted to make sure Mai would obey her command regardless of any personal attachments. None of which was the peasant's concern.

All this and more could have flashed though her mind, but it didn't. She simply couldn't muster the coherency. Instead the entire response from her trained articulate mind boiled down to a single furious reflex.

_How dare she? How dare that dull unwashed barbarian tramp judge __**her**__!_

Mai often gave the impression of a stone statue, but in the wake of that thought a different kind of stillness spread through her.

Because it is impossible to be hurt by someone's opinion if you truly consider her beneath you.

It shouldn't have mattered. The regard of the one common Waterbender shouldn't have affected Mai at all. Yet somehow it had snuck past the defenses around her heart and struck her to the core. The Waterbender was her inferior, a lowly heathen from the southern wastelands. She was also determined, devoted to her cause and didn't back down against opposition of superior or unknown strength, which made her a worthy opponent. And she was a teenage girl drafted into a battle that by any reasonable definition ought not to be her responsibility. Why was some half-trained villager from the South Pole facing off against the Fire Nation's elite? For that matter, why was a civilian noble facing off against the Avatar? Mai was trained in combat, yes, but she wasn't a soldier. Neither was Katara. Not by a long shot.

Katara.

She was using the girl's name. She had known it since the spectacular failure of War Minister Qing's beloved Drill at the outer wall of Ba Sing Se; it was one of the few gains from that encounter, names to add to the descriptions of the Avatar's companions. The Waterbender was called Katara. And now Mai was _thinking_ of her as Katara and not simply _the Waterbender_. Not like a friend, certainly, but just… perhaps… as a peer.

Shaken, Mai had set the ratty pages aside and donned the familiar motions of apathy. She had checked all her knives, oiled and sharpened her favorite blades. Target practice was out, but she practiced releasing those blades into her hands, feeling the comforting familiarity of the projectiles' weight in her slim fingers.

Now as the tank-train groaned to life she picked the worn pages up again, settled into a corner of the empty car and turned back to the earlier entries where the younger teen had vented her frustrations. The first time through, Mai had been vaguely amused by Zuko's ability to get under the girl's skin, but on second reading she was struck by the actual content.

To be sure, Katara had no reference point to gauge the fallen prince's position, but despite not being able to fully grasp certain harsh realities of court life, or perhaps because of that outside perspective, her observations had an undeniable clarity. She questioned things Mai simply accepted as a matter of course. And then there was also something so very attractive about the girl's audacity, a quality both shocking and tempting. Mai drew her knees to her chest and leaned toward the lamp, eyes glittering as she read.

_Why can't he understand? How can he think one group of people in the entire world has the right to dictate everyone else's lives…How can he justify the amount of pain he has caused these past few months? I know Zhao would have done worse, but that doesn't excuse the damage he caused… Why can't he understand that his father is wrong?_

_…sometimes I think he actually isn't doing it on purpose, like something just isn't connecting in his head. I'd try Waterbending again but I doubt he'd let me get that close after what happened the first time. I wish I knew why he reacted so violently…_

_…Duty. It's always duty with him. Obligation. Missions undertaken and orders followed because it's expected… Tried something different today, and asked what would have happened if he had succeeded in his blasted "mission". It almost worked- he kept ducking the issue but finally admitted that whatever happened to Aang -or me or Sokka- "wouldn't be up to him". I thought the whole point of chasing Aang was to get back in favor and regain his position as the Prince? What's the point of any of it if he's still powerless afterward?_

_…I wonder sometimes if he actually believes what he's saying. Everyone has a choice between doing what they're told or following their own conscience. Either he doesn't believe in free will or he's chosen to give up all control of his own life…What makes someone believe nothing they do is their own choice? _

In the stillness of the empty room the younger teen's thoughts seemed to hang in the air and Mai could not get them out of her head. She reread the passage about Omashu, and realized she had missed pieces there, too. It actually made sense that her brother's abduction had not been intentional -although the Resistance had taken advantage of her father's panic readily enough which made the issue somewhat moot. But Katara expressed concern that leaving Zuko in Earth Kingdom custody may have been a mistake, and not because of the chance he could escape and cause trouble. Why did the girl care?

_Why do __**I**__ care_?

_Because it's Zuko. Because even if she doesn't understand the million invisible strings holding him, I do. Because I know my place too well. Because I'm not entirely sure I know Azula anymore. Because I'm starting to think I'm not sure of anything_.

Mai retrieved her list of notes and read it through, face impassive in the lamplight. Then she carefully opened the glass panel, and caught the edge of the paper alight. She held it out from her body and watched the edges blacken and curl. When the flames licked her fingertips she dropped the last remaining bit to the floor, watched it flare and then scraped the ashes with her boot. The charcoal smudge vanished completely against the dark metal.

She pulled a clean sheet free and smoothed it on the table, readied ink and brush, and filled the blank parchment with smooth, orderly characters. When she had finished she blew across the glistening ink. Although there was no one there to witness it, the expression on her face never faltered.

Never changed at all.

***

At any other time, in any other situation, Kai would never have even noticed the old man drinking tea in the far corner. He looked much like any other weary traveler, if a little old to be making a solitary journey. His robes were patched and dusty and his beard ragged, although the remnant of his hair was pulled into a neat braid. Something about him caught the mercenary's attention, though, and since he relied on his instincts it only made sense to figure out what, exactly, had attracted that notice.

When the old man turned to accept a refill of steaming tea and smiled gently at the serving girl Kai nearly choked on his drink.

Meeting the exiled prince of the Fire Nation could have been a coincidence. The boy was traveling through the Earth Kingdom incognito, he was bound to run into _someone_ and it happened to be Kai. That mere chance extended to encountering Princess Azula as well, since she was following her "errant" brother. So that could have just been luck, good or ill it was still too early to judge.

Stopping to blunt his mind with very cheap baijiu and running into General Iroh, Dragon of the West and Accused Traitor to the Fire Nation Throne? Not a coincidence. Not following the other two. Not when the poster Her Royal Pain-in-the-Ass had shoved in his face claimed the old man had abetted the Avatar. Not when there had been a shared poster for the old man and his nephew.

There is a subtle but crucial distinction between non-cooperation and actively obstructing someone's intentions by supporting their opponents. Kai drained what was left of his glass, flinching at the taste, and stood, weaving through the crowd toward the far end of the room.

_This has all the makings of a very bad plan._

_I know. Isn't it exciting?_

Iroh had waited at the Oasis for over a week, but the Avatar and his companions had not returned. He knew they would not, but couldn't help hoping. Whatever happened on their journey he wished them well. Then he settled his affairs with the members of his brotherhood and set off for Ba Sing Se. The Order had arranged passage nearly all the way to the ferry, but no one had been available to cover this last stretch. Iroh wasn't worried; he was perfectly capable of reaching Full Moon Bay on his own. His papers were in order, although he had been less than thrilled with his alias.

Although there had been a spot of excitement precipitating his departure, the trip had progressed mostly uneventfully. As had become ritual in the past five years since his beloved son's death, Iroh spent the anniversary of Lu Ten's birthday on a hill with a solitary tree. It was the first time he had held that vigil where he could not be sure Zuko was safely close by and accounted for.

Whenever he could risk it, he checked the pearl dagger. Even when the moon was dark in the sky he could still see the blue nimbus around the blade. Several days ago on the new moon he had woken to discover the blade nearly pulsing with energy, though it eventually dimmed again. It signified- _something_- but he had no means to decipher that cryptic message. He could almost see the white haired princess holding out her hands and shrugging apologetically.

_When the Spirits grant you favors, do not complain that you don't understand what you are given. _

His thoughts were interrupted by a low, insistent voice.

"Sir? This is not somewhere you wish to be just now."

He lowered his teacup and looked up, noting the slight glaze to the man's eyes in contrast to the clarity of his words. Not drunk yet, but not entirely sober either. Judging from the exposed scars, this man was no stranger to physical hazard, and he moved with the easy assurance of experience.

"To what do I owe your concern, young man?" The old general's voice was pleasant but carried a hint of caution. Kai grinned and ran one callused finger under the parallel scabs on his cheek.

"I had the pleasure of meeting your niece, General."

Iroh's bushy eyebrows rose swiftly, golden eyes widening in shock. He recovered quickly, though, much to the old man's credit. He certainly didn't look like a legendary warrior; short, thick and worn to grey. He moved with efficiency, however, sliding from his seat and depositing a few coins on the table. It was a shame to waste tea, but…

"Perhaps we should continue this conversation elsewhere," he suggested, and Kai nodded shortly.

"Why not on the move? I'm supposed to meet your nephew in Ba Sing Se."

Iroh nearly stumbled, and the young warrior laughed quietly. The old man recovered faster the second time, deftly navigating the packed room and bracing himself (if a little belatedly) for any further earth-shattering revelations.

"If I may be so bold, how is it you happen to have met my nephew?"

"Short version, he helped me deal with a spot of trouble a little while back. Long version, now there's an interesting story. Keep your head down as we cross the plaza, there's probably eighty people who could recognize your face and at least half of them don't like me very much. Blasted ingrates. The kid, well, no offense but the kid attracts trouble like a rotting camelephant carcass gathers vulture-griffons. Fights like a demon, though. S'what caught my eye. Uncanny reflexes."

Iroh smiled slightly. Unexpected as the man's appearance might have been, the respect he displayed for Zuko (or at least his skill) warmed the old man's heart. He listened to the warrior ramble with only half his attention, discreetly scanning the crowd and his unconventional companion. The man knew his business; the effortless way he kept up a seemingly innocuous conversation in the middle of a crowded town while feeding the retired General salient details suggested natural talent, experience, or both. Not a man to dismiss, certainly.

"…So now I need a new job. I can go back when things cool down, of course, although to be perfectly honest I could use a change of pace."

"You are sure this-rendezvous- is certain?"

"Not at all. Absolutely." The swordsman laughed. "You must know him better- would he change course now?"

Iroh sighed and ran a hand over his face. Between everything he had learned from Katara (and Sokka and Aang but mostly Katara) and the details just provided he wasn't sure how well he actually _did_ know his nephew. Some of the things he had heard gave him hope, while others were frankly worrisome. Or were the details he thought recent developments old news he simply hadn't been in a position to notice? He shook his head. There were some things about Zuko he was sure would never change, and more often than not once he set his mind on something he'd follow through.

"Mmmm. It's unlikely."

"You hope."

"As do you." It wasn't quite a question.

Kai shrugged.

"He caught an arrow meant for my heart, old man. That's not the sort of thing I forget."

"You're offering me your help to repay blood-debt, then?"

"Naw. Settled that when I returned the favor."

They walked in silence for a while. Then, without breaking stride;

"The little bitch pisses me off. Thought I'd return _that_ favor, too."

The old man smiled.


	22. Chapter 21

"Papers?"

"I'msorrywhat?"

Zuko snapped his head up and stared at the guard. The ferry port at Full Moon Bay, protected as it was by armed guards and trained Earthbenders, was probably the worst kept secret in the world. All you had to do to find it was follow the continuous trickle of refugees. Granted, actually getting _inside_ was a somewhat trickier proposition and now he was discovering he still wasn't in the clear.

"Passport. Identification. You can't get into the city without authorization."

Sheer panic gripped the boy's heart. Hoshi hadn't mentioned anything, but she had been living in the middle of nowhere for what, a decade? Kai hadn't said anything either, but he probably assumed Zuko, or rather "Shen", already had the necessary documentation.

"I- no one told me I needed… I'm supposed to meet someone in the city."

The guard sighed, the weary exhalation of someone who had heard all the common excuses and several colorful variations as well. "Of course you are. This person have a name?"

"Kai," Zuko snapped defensively. The guard's eyebrows rose and the expression on his face shifted.

"Oh _him_. You can do better than that lowlife."

_I didn't ask for your opinion. Kai saved my life. Besides_…"He was the first person to offer anything." _If it doesn't work out I can always say no, find something else._

The stocky guard took in the teen before him; thin, scarred and dressed in threadbare clothes, with only a bedraggled ostrich-horse bearing half-empty saddlebags and a sword strapped to his back to guard those meager possessions. The man's face softened by a fraction.

"How long have you been drifting?"

For a moment Zuko could not understand what the guard meant, and then remembered what he looked like, and what he was supposed to be. He swallowed.

"Three years, I guess. I was…traveling…along the western coast for the most part."

"Well it's no wonder you don't have papers if you've been in the combat zone all this time. Funny the merc didn't warn you…"

"It didn't come up," Zuko muttered softly.

"Figures."

It didn't occur to the boy that Kai would most likely enter Ba Sing Se through the subterranean ferry port and he could simply wait there. Kai's note said to meet him at the Weeping Demon, so that's were Zuko needed to go.

"I have to get into the city…"

The guard started to say something along the lines of "good luck with that" and then stopped. There _was_ a way to get the kid onto the ferry and granting a small favor for one scrawny refugee in return for the mercenary's debt would make the effort worth his while.

"You know, there are certain _contingencies_ in place for people like you."

Zuko's eyes flicked up. "And how much would _that_ cost me?"

"If you'd rather not know about it…"

"No, I just-" _What do you get out of helping me?_

"You've been out there too long. That much is obvious."

Zuko nearly flinched when the guard clapped one beefy hand on his shoulder and steered boy and ostrich-horse toward a desk nearly hidden by uniformed figures. The cave sloped downward over them, creating an illusion of cramped space. It was a rather forbidding tableau, between the hulking uniformed men and the jagged spikes descending from the ceiling. If this was the place to apply for exceptions no wonder few tried. When they arrived, a sour faced guard looked from the boy to the man and back again.

"You taking on charitable works now, Li?"

"This boy," Li enunciated, "is with _Kai_."

The atmosphere immediately shifted.

"Is he now."

"He needs a conditional visa to work in the City," Li continued.

"Does he."

"_Time_ is of the essence. And I'm not sure he has quite enough to cover the fee."

"Hold on", Zuko started. He had been pleasantly surprised to discover his purse somewhat fuller than expected- apparently Kai had decided Zuko (or rather Shen) earned the second half of his payment- but still had no idea if it was enough for the bribe or whatever this was about because the guard hadn't given him anything to go by. His voice faltered when he realized that not only did he have no idea what was going on but he couldn't find a way to clarify the situation without possibly giving himself away as an imposter. There was no way to know if this was normal or not. Better to play along, right?

The sour faced man smiled. "I suppose we could always waive the fee for now and collect it from his employer."

"My thoughts exactly."

Realization dawned that the guards were using him against the mercenary. Kai wouldn't be too happy with that, but it wasn't _Zuko's_ idea. He was fairly sure trying to back out now would be somewhat less than smart.

The sour faced man rummaged under the desk and brought out a stack of papers. He blew across the top and a cloud of dust billowed out. Zuko turned away but some of it got in his eyes and he blinked rapidly, coughing. Then a single sheet was taken from the top and the pile of unused forms returned to storage. The- army clerk?- rapidly applied brush and stamps before turning the form around.

"Sign here."

Zuko scanned the paper briefly, took the brush, re-inked it, and added the proper characters at the bottom. The man narrowed his eyes but blew on the ink and then nearly obliterated the signature entirely with yet another stamp.

"You're all set, kid."

Li whacked him on the back and pushed him back toward the ticket line. Zuko nodded briefly, the critical document clenched in his fist tight enough to crumple the stiff parchment. As he turned, the guard threw out what Zuko could only assume was advice:

"Just remember- there is no war in Ba Sing Se."

The ticket was issued without incident, the ferry ride passed uneventfully, and it wasn't until much later that the enigmatic warning made sense.

***

Deep beneath the surface of Lake Laogai, Katara knelt beside the fallen rebel. His voice came strained as he tried to cover up the gravity of the injury, and she was not fooled.

"Katara… I'm sorry."

Tears welled in her eyes, but she blinked them away, sorrow and anger warring in her heart. Anger won.

_No, you're not. You're only saying that because you're dying._

He _was_ dying. She could feel it even without Waterbending as a conduit. She knew it without seeing Toph's stricken face as the Earthbender's sensitive feet picked up the faltering vibrations or the tracks through Smellerbee's war paint as the tomboy failed to maintain her tough as nails front. Katara swallowed, and briefly touched the cool stone pendant at her throat.

She had left the vial of Spirit Water behind. Today of all days, she didn't have it on her. Thoughtless. She wouldn't let it make a difference. It had been months since her lessons with Yugoda, but she couldn't let that matter. Maybe she was inexperienced, maybe she was out of practice, but she knew what to do. Drawing the stopper from her water skin, Katara pulled the liquid out in one smooth motion and closed her eyes, water-gloved hands hovering above Jet's chest. When her eyes opened again, they were filled with determination.

"Get his armor off." There was no arguing with that tone. "Aang, you need to get going. I'll handle this."

Smellerbee sniffed, her eyes wide, then bent over her leader, wincing as he hissed from her ministrations. Longshot planted his feet and drew an arrow to cover the healer and her makeshift assistant.

Sokka regarded his little sister with wonder and perhaps a touch of pride, then nodded, touched Aang's shoulder and turned him away. "Come on. We have a bison to free."

Aang glanced over his shoulder, eyes wide with concern. "Katara, are you sure-"

"I'll be fine. We'll catch up." She glanced up and gave a brief smile, but it vanished so quickly he couldn't tell if it was genuine. Toph raised a fist.

"All right then. Let's kick some Dai Li butt."

Katara bent down and shut out the rest of the world. She didn't notice her friends' departure. She barely even noticed Jet's exposed skin under her hands, the mere thought of which normally would make her blush furiously. Jaw set, she felt for the unmistakable currents of energy flowing through his body.

"Smellerbee, I'm going to need your help. You need to keep Jet as still as possible, okay? Try to find something to put between his teeth."

Bee nodded shortly and wedged her sheathed dagger in Jet's mouth. He flinched as the diminutive warrior grabbed his shoulders, teeth notching the hardened leather. Katara took a deep breath and plunged her awareness into the swirling energy under her palms.

She could feel fractures along his ribs, prickly raw pain that stuck her like thorns. She gently smoothed the splinters of bone back in place. Blood had pooled inside him and she leeched it away, repaired the torn muscle, mended the delicate organs and carefully, carefully, carefully nudged everything back where it was supposed to be. Jet sighed softly and his features slackened.

The water over Katara's hands flashed and then went dull and she swayed, eyes half-lidded as she pulled away. Smellerbee reached across Jet's body to grab her arm and she jerked upright.

"It's okay," she reassured the younger girl, but her voice came out faint and reedy. She swallowed and tried again. "It's okay. He's stable now. There was a lot of damage, and I couldn't fix everything all at once, but he'll be all right now. He just needs to rest, and recover."

"So do you."

"There's no time," she insisted, pushing herself upright. "We have to go…"

The cavern reverberated and the quartet froze in a comic tableau, Katara bent forward with Smellerbee's hands wrapped around her waist and Jet sagging against Longshot's shoulder like a marionette whose strings had suddenly been cut. The two boys turned to each other. Smellerbee drew her dagger. Katara just stared.

Another huge vibration shook the underground base, and then they heard a low grumbling roar, growing as it neared. The floor shook beneath them, and then the far wall crumbled away in a waterfall of rock and dust. Appa shook the dust free from his shaggy coat, bellowed again, and then sneezed.

"Hey guys!" Aang chirped from his perch on the great beast's head, staff in hand and his clothes coated in a mixture of air bison saliva and pulverized rock, "Need a lift?"

A relieved smile split Katara's weary face and she began to laugh.

Several hours later, after they had busted free of the base and Appa had sent Long Feng flying into the lake before the Grand Secretariat had a chance to see the boy he had mortally wounded _walking_ from the wreckage (albeit slowly and with the aid of a human crutch), Katara laced her fingers under her head and stared at the stars through a network of branches. Soon enough they would have to move on, form a plan, carry on, but for now she could rest.

A shadow fell over her face and she sat up. Jet lowered himself gingerly to the ground, one hand wrapped around his stomach. As much damage as she had repaired bruises still painted his entire chest and peaked through the layered white bandage.

"I've been talking with Sokka. It's too dangerous to try returning to the city, but there's a whole bunch of outlying settlements between the inner and outer walls where we can lay low for a while."

Katara regarded him, and listened, but didn't say anything.

"I wanted to thank you, Katara." Jet's voice was soft, perhaps even grateful. But she couldn't trust that apparent sincerity. Jet played people. He was good at it. For a long while neither spoke.

"I don't. Forgive you."

Jet blinked, both at her words and the vehemence behind them.

"I don't understand," he said at last. "If you don't forgive me, then why-"

"_Because_ I don't forgive you. You didn't change, Jet. I'm not sure you can. The only reason Aang was even able to reach you back there, to break Long Feng's control, was to make you remember all the violence of your past. You say you're different now, and you aren't. You're still the same crazy obsessed jerk. But if I'd let you die, you'd never be able to make it up to me. Never be able to redeem your past mistakes. So I didn't let you die. This is your _third_ chance, Jet. Don't muck it up."

She stood abruptly and brushed off her skirt. Then, without bothering to observe his reaction, she walked away to the firelight and her friends and brother and the great furry mass of a companion too long parted from the family.

Aang greeted her with a smile, and she settled beside him and leaned back against Appa's shaggy hide. Side by side, they turned their eyes heavenward to watch the stars.

***

As usual, the marketplace was packed. It was always a little more exciting to come alone, but Jin had discovered by experience that it also gave her a lot of opportunities she wouldn't get otherwise.

Most people wouldn't understand what could possibly posses a pretty young girl to stick around the Lower Ring when she had easy access to the teashops, markets and thorough-fairs of the more affluent Middle Ring, but then Jin was not most people. She knew how hard her parents worked to provide a safe, stable life for their family. Unlike many who had come to the city only to be swallowed by the ruthless tides of desperation rampant in the slums of Ba Sing Se they had pulled free of the muck and made something of themselves. It was only right that she extend a hand to newcomers so they might do the same.

It didn't always work, of course, but it was her plain and fervent belief that people should look out for each other. The world would be a better place if that happened more often. Sometimes she did spend her free time frivolously- a girl deserved a little fun now and then after all- but more often than not her time off was spent wandering. Keeping a lookout, for- oh, anyone really.

Her wide green eyes swept the scene and something caught her gaze. As she pushed through the crowd her smile widened. He was obviously traveling alone, and just as obviously out of his element- staying close to the shaggy ostrich-horse as though it was his only friend in the world (which was probably true) with his shoulders hunched defensively forward. Tangled hair fell into his face and he seemed to be trying as hard as he could not to attract anyone's attention. That attempt at invisibility, of course, was what had caught _her_ interest. She pressed forward, a slight smile on her face.

"Hey. "

Zuko snapped to attention, inwardly cursing for letting his mind wander in the first place. He couldn't afford to be complacent. Not here, not ever. Still, the girl standing in front of him didn't _look_ dangerous. She had a wide, open face and a gentle smile. Probably around his own age. Pretty, in a general sort of way. He couldn't imagine what she wanted.

"Can I help you?" he hazarded.

"Actually, I think I'm the one who can help _you_. You're new, right?"

A brief nod. She sounded friendly.

"You find somewhere to stay yet?"

A quick mental calculation concluded negligible threat. "Actually, yes. I just can't find it. Do you know how to get to the southern gate from here?"

Worry shadowed her eyes briefly, as though his words reminded her of something she didn't want to think about.

"Not to sound judgmental, but- that's not a very _welcoming_ part of town."

Zuko couldn't say he was surprised. "I can take care of myself. Nice meeting you." He pulled against the reins and started off generally southwest.

"Wait-"

Zuko flinched when she grabbed his shoulder and she withdrew her hand apologetically.

"I didn't say I wouldn't help. I was just wondering why you're headed there if you don't know the city yet. I mean, wouldn't it make sense to look closer?"

"I'm supposed to meet someone. I didn't choose the location."

_Why am I telling her this? It's none of her business…_

"Do you trust this person?"

"I- guess. Yeah."

"You trying to convince me, or yourself there?"

"Are you going to help me find this place or not?" he snapped. The last thing he needed was some random girl feeding the doubts already gnawing away at his mind.

"Of course I am", she replied, completely unperturbed by the outburst. "I'm Jin, by the way. Ba Sing Se's original and unofficial one-person welcoming committee."

"Shen," he mumbled, and then realized the girl was scratching Help between the ears and the dumb beast was practically drooling from the attention. Jin turned her head and grinned at him. Zuko ran a hand over his face, and then froze.

She hadn't reacted to the scar. At all. She could see it, obviously. It was kind of hard to miss. The girl just didn't _care_ that nearly half of his face was destroyed. There was no revulsion or pity in her eyes. And while it probably shouldn't matter enough to sway his entire judgment, her attitude was unusual enough to do just that.

"What's his name?"

"Hnh? I call him Help."

She laughed, a clear joyful sound and almost involuntarily his mouth curved. "It suits him," she replied. Her hand closed gently around Zuko's wrist and he didn't pull away.

"Come on. We should get going if you want to get all the way to the gate. I don't suppose your friend gave you an actual address?"

"Uh, I have a name. The Weeping Demon?"

"I've heard of that, actually. It's not as far into the-"

"Bad part of town?" he finished.

She rolled her eyes. "The entire Lower Ring is the "bad part of town". It's just, some areas are a little- rougher- than others." Her gaze fell on the dao blades strapped to his back. "You probably shouldn't keep wearing those openly if you don't want trouble."

"I'm not a moron, thank you. I _have_ lived in a city before."

Her face went still and the shadow crept back into her eyes.

"Not like this one", she murmured.

As it turned out, the Weeping Demon was a respectable (or at least solid) looking inn that boasted a large interior courtyard, a sizable stable, two stories of rentable rooms and a fairly crowded taproom attached to the main office. The clientele seemed to fall mostly on the "not-quite-legal" side of the spectrum, compared to the "completely _illegal_" alignment that categorized the harsher parts of town.

"See you tomorrow?"

"Huh?"

Jin folded her hands and looked significantly at the darkening sky.

"I have to get home before it gets too late, but I can come back if you'd like me to show you more of the city," she clarified. "And I'm not sure you can find your way back to the market just yet. So, I'll meet you here?"

"Uh, sure."

She smiled again, teeth brilliant white against her skin, and then walked back the way she had come, humming softly.

Zuko turned his attention back to business.

The innkeeper was… not as expected. In an establishment frequented by mercenaries, smugglers, semi-retired bounty hunters and others with similarly questionable professions he was a dull mud-perch in a sea of bright parrotfish. His face was neither ugly nor attractive, his expression neither genial nor hostile, his age indeterminate. He was more thick than thin, and possibly taller than the swordsman who claimed him as a friend. Not entirely non-descript, just, not very noticeable. Zuko approached cautiously.

"I'm looking for Kai. Is he here yet?"

Unreadable eyes studied him across the expanse of a thick wooden counter.

"You a friend?"

So much for not asking questions. Of course, Kai had probably meant a different kind of question but Zuko still felt nervous. He lifted his chin and set his jaw.

"I am."

"Not here."

"Then I'll _wait_ for him."

The proprietor considered this, then pushed a list of rates under the boy's nose.

"You seem like the type, all right. Little young for a mercenary."

"I'm not."

"Hmmph."

"These include stabling fees?"

Dark eyes flicked toward the shaggy ostrich-horse.

"For that measly runt?"

Zuko felt an irrational anger at the man's quick dismissal of his mount. His unusually trained, sturdy, sure-footed, affectionate and (excluding extenuating circumstances) _loyal_ mount.

"I'm not selling him," he declared. The man raised an eyebrow and "hmphed" again before stabbing his finger at the appropriate line.

Zuko carefully counted out enough money for a week's lodging and watched it disappear into the man's large fist. If Kai didn't show up by then, well…

A thick ledger banged into the counter and he almost jumped, but quietly accepted the offered brush and "signed" for the account. It might not be the safest plan to keep using his former alias, but that was the name Kai knew. It would only raise questions to change it now, especially when he'd already used it with the girl.

"You'll be wanting a key, then."

Zuko took it without comment, wondering just how secure the locks in such an establishment could possibly be. It would be safest to leave anything he reasonably could with the ostrich-horse. Help didn't seem to like the confines of the city very much, did not enjoy cramped stalls and would most likely take an arm off anyone trying to filch Zuko's things. He hoped. The innkeeper watched the teen's face darken.

"Leave it outside."

Zuko's head snapped up.

"What?"

"You're in the city now. Whatever you were, whatever you had to do to survive, leave it outside the gates." The man retrieved the ledger and replaced it behind the counter with a muffled thud. Zuko turned and set off for the stable. The warning was phrased differently but the meaning was the same: there is no war in Ba Sing Se.

As he passed from the line of sight the innkeeper pulled the ledger partway out and looked at the name there. His eyebrows rose slightly, then lowered, and he shrugged

***

Jin found the inn easily enough and smiled broadly as she saw her new friend waiting in the courtyard. He seemed less wild today, almost respectable. It was too bad most of the color in his skin was apparently the variety that washed off with soap, but she had to admit Shen cleaned up pretty nice. He had a different shirt today, equally threadbare as the other and boasting a crude patch on one arm, but noticeably cleaner. And he seemed to have been split between trying to tame his hair and letting as much of it as possible fall in his face. She resisted the urge to muss it up completely.

"So, where to?"

Whatever lingering doubts Zuko had about the girl vanished as the day progressed. He wanted to trust her. She was nice. He tried to find a better word to suit her personality, but really, she was just a nice person. And he wasn't especially used to that.

Mid-afternoon found them sitting on the steps near a noodle shack in the Middle Ring slurping ramen. He had a much better sense of the city, far better than Jin seemed to realize. He had even memorized the location of several merchants in the Lower Ring, but refrained from actually buying anything from some nebulous worry that his cutthroat bargaining would make Jin think he was completely desperate. He wasn't entirely sure why that would be a bad thing, but the feeling was there.

"We could go get tea after this."

He made a face.

"My Uncle's always been obsessed with tea. I never understood why. It's just- hot leaf juice."

She laughed and then had to wipe broth from her nose with her sleeve.

"Actually, there's a shop that's been looking for help. I thought if you wanted a steady job…"

"Me? Work in a teashop? I'd go crazy. And honestly, I can't think of anything less appetizing than a waiter missing half his face."

She set her bowl down on the steps and glanced away.

"I guess I didn't think about that," she murmured.

"Why are you trying to find me a job anyway? You don't even know me."

"It's- kind of what I do. Try to help people settle in. My parents were refugees- I know how lucky they were to make it."

He studied her face for a moment. He knew she was holding something back, but he couldn't tell what. He had never been adept at reading people: that was Azula's specialty. She studied her subjects and then played them like instruments. He turned his attention back to his noodles.

Jin bit her lip and picked her bowl again, then her fingers tightened against the rim as a shadow fell across the two teens and moved on. Zuko looked up with his mouth full and watched with narrowed eyes as the two men passed down the street. They wore matching dark green robes and conical hats with tassels, and as they advanced the crowd shifted to make room.

He swallowed hastily.

"What was that all about?"

Jin shook her head and stood up.

"Not here," she whispered. "Come on."

The part of him that remembered what starving felt like cringed to abandon even cold sludge, but he dutifully returned his bowl and chopsticks and followed the girl down the street.

She took him down twisting streets and alleyways to a small garden park overshadowed by the thick wall dividing the Middle and Upper Rings. Well hidden from the main thoroughfare, it was mostly empty and slightly overgrown. Jin pulled him to a gurgling fountain and sat down on the edge. He disengaged his hand and folded his arms over his chest, expression slightly annoyed.

"Okay, _now_ can you tell me what the hell is going on? Who were those guys? Why was everyone afraid of them?"

"They were Dai Lee agents." She flicked her eyes up to look at him. "You don't want to mess with them."

There was something oddly personal about the warning and despite his usual failure to catch subtle hints Zuko knew exactly what.

"They hurt you."

She shushed him frantically, although they were alone and the noisy splash of water disguised their words from passersby.

"No, not- it's kind of a long story."

Zuko sighed and sat down on the edge of the fountain. He had very little experience dealing with girls but Jin didn't strike him as the silly hysterical type. Quite the opposite- she seemed extremely level headed, if naively optimistic. If she was this upset it had to be serious.

"A- a while back, I was helping someone else get used to the city. And this guy, he was really different from anyone I'd met before. Most of the people who come are desperate, looking for a little bit of safety and stability, somewhere to make a new life. You know- start over, forget the bad things ever happened? He wasn't like them. He had this- spark. He didn't want to settle in, he kept fighting. Said life inside the city was a sick lie, that the people where letting themselves be controlled. That they traded away their freedom for a tiny piece of security, and if this was the last safe place in the world then-" her voice dropped so low he could barely hear it, "- then the Fire Nation had already won the war."

Zuko blinked.

"I tried to tell him not to draw their attention, but he wouldn't listen. He tried to get a bunch of people to fight back, started yelling that they couldn't hide the truth and people knew what was happening outside the Walls. He kept screaming about the Fire Nation. So they took him away. The Dai Li charged him for "disturbing the peace". If it had been the City Guard, that wouldn't have been so bad. They're pretty okay most of the time, just ordinary people in a uniform."

"What _are_ the Dai Li?"

"Highly trained Earthbenders who answer only to the Grand Secretariat. It's their job to "maintain the culture of our great city". And the culture of Ba Sing Se is-"

"Order. Safety. _Peace_."

She nodded.

_There is no war in Ba Sing Se_. Zuko shivered.

"What did they do to him?"

She shook her head. "That's just it. Nobody really knows what happens if the Dai Li get you. You just don't come back. There's all sorts of rumors and horror stories but nobody knows what's real or not. I think that's the scariest part."

"People just- disappear? Doesn't anyone notice?"

"Of course we do, but no one can do anything about it. If they take someone you know, and you make a fuss, they'll just take you, too."

Zuko stared at the grass between his feet, hands clenched on the cool stone fountain. Ba Sing Se was definitely not as advertised. On the surface everything was hopeful and secure, shining and open. But at the core it was all rotten. He couldn't help comparing the stratified "utopia" to the stinking ports of Fan Rong Men Hu and decided Ba Sing Se was merely the inverse of the Free Port- the same mix of corruption and fear flipped inside-out so the exterior gleamed of virtue. It made him sick. And more than slightly afraid.

"You'll be careful, won't you? I know you're not the same person but you- kind of remind me of him. And I know you can take care of yourself and everything, just- please don't go looking for trouble, Shen. I don't want to lose anyone else."

Zuko considered this for a while. He knew he was brash and impulsive but the knowledge that the Dai Li effectively ruled the entire city and could make people they didn't like simply vanish was not the kind of information he typically ignored.

With his luck he'd run into the bastards anyway, but no, he was definitely not _planning_ on attracting their attention. Especially since out of all the people in Ba Sing Se the secret police were the most likely realize who he was and base their response _painfully_ accordingly. Just because all the citizens were engaged in enforced make-believe that the world beyond the gates didn't concern them did not mean the Fire Lord's exiled son would be left alone if he promised to play along like a good little boy. His fingers curled.

"I'll be careful."

"It's not all bad, you know. You just have to know the rules."

_Wonderful. Sounds just like home. I could never figure out the rules there either._

"So tell me."

"Huh?"

"The good stuff."

She sniffed briefly and then smiled.

"Well, there's all the people. You have to know the right ones of course. And there's a fountain in this square filled with floating lamps, and at night the flames dance on the water…." Her voice trailed off, and then her eyes brightened and she turned to one side and pulled something from the folds of her robe. It crinkled softly as she unfolded it. Grinning broadly, she turned back and held the paper out for his inspection.

"Look!"

Zuko touched the creased flyer gingerly, not trusting his voice as the contents registered in his brain.

"The Avatar is here! The real thing! These flyers were all over town. Isn't it exciting!"

That wasn't quite the word Zuko would have chosen. He couldn't think of a better one, though, or even a clear reaction to the news.

_Why is it that I always find exactly what I wasn't expecting?_

"Shen?"

"How the hell do you lose a ten ton flying monster?"

She shrugged. "I'm not sure, but do you know what's really cool? This isn't one of the flyers he put up. It's an extra Master Pei ran off to test the print blocks before committing to the whole run. Not only is the Avatar in town, he came to my work for the flyers!"

"You met him?"

She sighed and lowered the paper into her lap. "Just missed him, actually. This is as close as I'll probably ever get."

Zuko shrugged and pushed away an irrational surge of jealousy.

"He's just a kid, you know."

Jin studied him for a while.

"You don't believe in him, do you?"

Zuko gave and exasperated sigh and rolled his eyes. "I know perfectly well he's real, okay?"

She shook her head. "You don't believe _in_ him. You think he doesn't have the power to fix things." She pressed her treasure into his hands, small fingers curling over his larger as she pushed the paper to his chest.

"I think you should keep it."

Zuko sat with his mouth slightly open for a moment before collecting his wits. He knew far more about the irresponsible little brat than she ever would but somehow he couldn't deny that she was right. Regardless of seeing the boy's power with his own eyes (and having felt it on his own skin) he _didn't_ believe the Avatar had a chance in hell of winning. It had nothing to do with being on opposite sides- Avatar or not, Aang just didn't have what it took to stop someone like Zuko's father. He was too soft.

Zuko took a deep breath, swallowed, and shoved the paper into his belt. Then he stood, feeling uneasy and awkward.

"Um. So, you work at a print shop? What's that like?"

"Dusty". She laughed, and led him from the garden. "I mix ink most of the time, and cut paper. Master Pei is an Earthbender, and he makes all the print blocks. Sometimes I get to run across town with an order for an important client, or we run low on something and I have to get more in a hurry. It's pretty boring most of the time, but Master Pei is a good boss."

They walked silently for a while, and though he caught occasional glimpses of dark green robes and tasseled hats through the crowd Jin hardly reacted. Either her fears on the subject had been put to rest or else she had simply calmed down enough to control her emotions. As they neared the gate between Middle and Lower Rings her eyes widened and she stopped abruptly. Zuko glanced over sharply.

"What is it?"

"I'm supposed to be somewhere, I think- what time is it?"

He shrugged.

"Late afternoon?"

She bit her lip. "Do you think you can manage past the gate? I don't think I can stay much longer."

"I told you before, I can take care of myself."

"Well then, if you're such an expert you can navigate yourself to the 47th District plaza the night after next. The one with the rectangular fountain where all the university students hang out. I have to work the next two days, and if I bring you home you'd have to put up with my sister's merciless teasing and my dad acting like a platypus-bear. He's still kind of upset because of what happened with Jet."

_Jet? A crazy obsessed agitator with a death wish and his name is Jet? Like-__black? Figures. He probably thought it sounded dangerous. _ "…Did you just ask me to dinner?"

Jin nodded. "Unless you have other plans, of course."

"With who? You're the only person I know in this damn city. Unless you count the innkeeper. Man has the personality of a sea slug."

"I take it that's a yes, then?"

Ping was not a suspicious man by nature, but living in the Lower Ring had taught him caution and he had a father's instinctual protective nature where his daughters were concerned. So when he saw the boy walking next to _his_ Jin the familiar overreaction took over. This newest find looked a bit like the last one, rangy and unkempt. Trouble in human form.

Before he had a chance to confront whatever manipulative cocksure jackass had set their eyes on his baby girl this time, the boy turned to reveal the other side of his face. Ping froze. There was only one thing in the world that could have caused a scar like that, and the hesitant smile that briefly graced the boy's thin features passed far too quickly for the expression to be familiar.

Not so like the other boy at all. It was only a passing resemblance, if that. This scarred teen had none of the swagger or bluster the self-proclaimed "Freedom Fighter" embodied. So he held his peace as they neared the gate. Jin caught sight of her father and waved cheerfully, turning briefly to her companion and touching his arm before running forward. The boy watched her leave, nearly caught Ping's gaze and quickly ducked his head.

"Hi Dad, sorry I'm a little late."

Jin's sister smiled in a teasing way and raised her eyebrows. "I'm guessing that was the mysterious new catch? Not exactly your usual pretty-guy boyfriend, is he?"

"Shut up, Rei. He's _not_ my boyfriend."

"But you're gonna see him again, right?"

"Of course I'm going to see him again. He doesn't even _know_ anyone else, and he's barely familiar with the city."

Jin turned to look over her shoulder but the boy in question had been lost to sight.

"I don't think Shen would know what to _do_ with a girl. He's so clueless it's actually cute."

"So, he is your boyfriend."

_Definitely better to go out for dinner_.

Zuko wandered through the Middle Ring. There were still daylight hours to waste, and it was probably less suicidal to look lost in the Middle Ring than the Lower- and less terminally boring than sitting in a rented room staring at the wall. He was slightly surprised by the amount of traffic through the gates, until he noticed the guards discreetly screening the passersby at the checkpoint. The gates into the Upper Ring were far more strictly controlled. Of course, the flip side to the relative prosperity and safety of the Middle Ring was the higher frequency of Dai Li visible in the streets. Zuko tried to avoid them without appearing to do so, which took up far too much of his concentration.

Light flickered in the corner of his right eye. Turning his head slightly he saw the flash of polished metal, dark green skirts, black armor and war paint, and promptly snapped his head forward again and kept walking. Then ducked around the nearest corner and flattened himself against the wall by a stack of crates. Fortunately there was no one around to witness this furtive gesture.

_Crap. CRAP!_

He closed his eyes, pressed his head against the stone, and tried to breathe slowly.

_She didn't see you. They didn't see you. You're still in the clear. Just wait until she's gone._

He opened his eyes again and leaned forward, hands propped on thighs. The Avatar was in the city; the Water Tribe siblings would be with him, of course. He'd want his other friends here too, right? Ba Sing Se was the last real obstacle to Fire Nation control. It was the Earth Kingdom's last bastion. It was a city of lies and illusions…

So the crazy fighters from that island were here- Kyoshi, wasn't it? Spirits, that seemed so long ago... It didn't mean he had to panic. He just had to keep his head, and then slip back down into the Lower Ring. No one knew Zuko was here. No one was going to know.

A swish of skirts fuller than the local fashion, the tramp of boots and he groaned. This was just like that time in the tree- the people he was trying to avoid just _had_ to close in on his hiding place. It was some kind of rule. He scanned the alley, but it was a dead end. There was no reason for them to check some random alley, he just had to keep quiet and wait. So why was his stomach twisting in cramps? A man's voice sounded on the main street, far too close for comfort.

"I'm certain Ba Sing Se must seem unusual compared to the wild lands you hail from, Lady Warrior. What is your opinion of the capitol?"

"Your city is so orderly. It is a shining example of organized community. A true civilization."

Zuko felt his blood run cold. It couldn't be her. It just couldn't. He was imagining things- he hadn't even heard his sister's voice in three whole years, barring taunting hallucinations. But the clipped enunciation, the timbre, the tone so polite you had to be imagining the cutting edge…

It was impossible that she could be here, but…what were the odds of anyone else sounding like that? How, much less why, would an Earth Kingdom warrior be able to mimic Azula so well it sent shivers down his spine? He held his breath as the footsteps passed, hands pressed to his face.

Disguising herself as one of the Avatar's allies in order to infiltrate an impenetrable fortress was just the kind of underhanded cunning his sister excelled at.

_No. No, no and no. This can't be happening._

_Why not? It follows the general pattern of your life- catch a break and then everything goes to hell again._

_No…_

He slid down the wall, chest heaving. Something crinkled. Mouth slightly open in surprise, he pulled the flyer from his sash and smoothed it against his leg.

"96th district, house 217 in the Upper Ring. Idiot child put his home address on the blasted flyers."

He let his head fall back against the wall and screwed his eyes shut. After a moment he opened them again and glanced sideways at the paper in his hand, expression slightly incredulous, as if even _he_ couldn't believe he'd consider such an action. Then he stared at the sky, but no better plan fell from the blue. He sighed, and one foot scooted along the worn paving stones. At the sound a door opened to reveal an angry face.

"What do you think you're doing back here?"

"Sorry," he mumbled, scrambling to his feet. " I had to get out of the traffic for a minute, clear my head."

He stumbled away, the crucial information wadded into a ball in his fist. Turn here. Go straight. Turn again. Pass the market with paper lanterns…he'd always been better at remembering street-routes than finding his way through wilderness. About time his city breeding came in useful, for a change.

He passed through the gate just in time- he'd have to remember traffic between Rings was locked down at sunset. It could be important. The streets through the Lower Ring crawled haphazardly, looping in labyrinthine twists to outdo the barely logical layout of the higher levels, but Zuko navigated the convoluted lanes with few mishaps. The pathways were darker down here, under the shadow of the looming city and the huddled crush of buildings. One attempted mugger earned a broken nose and his partner simply ran- Zuko grinned and continued on.

He reached the inn without further mishap and checked the stable. The ostrich-horse whiffled annoyance with the cramped quarters but subsided with a quick nose rub. The saddlebags appeared untouched in their nest of hay, but Zuko opened them to verify that fact. Then he entered the compound proper. No sign of Kai, although he wasn't surprised.

Passing on an offer of dice with a half-hearted wave, Zuko dragged himself up the stairs to his room and locked the door behind him. He lit the lone candle and then wedged a chair under the door handle for added security and collapsed facedown on the bed, dropping the Avatar's flyer on the worn floorboards.

"Hi, remember me? The guy you left with that crazy asshole General? Yeah, I kind of ran away. I bet you're wondering what I'm doing here. Quite frankly so am I. The thing is, I thought I saw my psycho little sister and even though I'm kind of hoping it was all in my head I thought I'd warn you. And considering if it actually _is_ Azula I'm doing you a huge favor, I'd really appreciate it if you didn't lock me in a hole again, okay?" he muttered into the mattress. "Yeah, _that'll_ work."

Turning over, he placed one hand over his eyes and drew it down his face.

"Whatever. It's not like planning ever helped before. I'll just wing it."

There was only one small problem:

"How the hell am I supposed to get into the Upper Ring?"

***

"Quit worrying, Toph. I'm sure your mom's going to be totally happy to see you."

"You really think so?"

"Of course. She's your mom. If you're really that worried, I could come with you…"

"Not. Necessary," Toph insisted. "I'm not a little girl who needs someone to hold my hand. And I'm going to make sure she understands that. Besides, aren't you supposed to be in meetings with the Council of Five all day?"

Katara pulled a face. "Pretty much."

"Well, if you have to put up with a bunch of old men tomorrow, I should probably let you get your beauty sleep."

Katara smiled tolerantly and rolled her eyes. "Goodnight, Toph."

"Goodnight, Sweetness."

***

Zuko woke at dawn; there wasn't a moment to waste. He had only one real opportunity to get into the Upper Ring, and it required preparation. Securing the folded flyer in his belt and his money under his clothes he set out. He stopped by the stables to bribe Help with an apple and stowed all his belongings with the temperamental beast, including the key to his room. He lifted his swords, winced and set them back. Then he headed for the front desk. The drab proprietor never seemed to leave his little domain, and Zuko wondered privately if he slept there. His clothes certainly looked like it.

"If Kai shows up before I'm back, give him this."

The man took the folded paper without comment, and barely raised an eyebrow at the blobby wax seal.

"Going somewhere, young master?"

"I'm paid up through the week, why do you care?"

A shrug, and the letter disappeared behind the desk.

Several hours later, Zuko knelt in the neglected garden and swiftly changed clothes. He had been careful not to get more than one article from a single location. A random, scruffy boy buying a new pair of pants was one thing, but a random scruffy boy buying an entire set of black clothing might catch someone's attention in all the wrong ways. Most of his time had been spent preventing that risk. In fact, it had taken the entire day just to get everything he needed discreetly and make it to this secluded location. Birds sang in the trees above his head and he scowled before bending to stretch his legs. The fountain burbled cheerfully.

He still bore the ghost of bruises, but the cut on his arm was healed well enough for what he had planned and his breath came slow and easy- as slow and easy as it could, considering the circumstances. Zuko craned his neck up in the growing twilight and studied the wall. It seemed smooth at first glance, but closer inspection showed the massive structure was composed of smaller, regularly shaped stone blocks. Not surprisingly, considering the city's age, there was considerable erosion at the edges of those blocks. Enough for a trained climber to scale the surface, providing his strength held long enough to reach the top.

_If it doesn't, I fall to my death. And this is the less suicidal option. _

He sat down at the base of a tree and blew hair from his eyes. His stomach gurgled. His eyelids sank, and he settled his legs into a proper meditation pose to prepare himself for the undertaking. Then his eyes flew open again.

"Shit. Jin!"

She would be expecting him the next night. Well, it wasn't like he had any way to contact her. Either he'd get into the Upper Ring, talk to the Avatar and get back in time, or- well, if he got caught along the way disappointing some random girl would be the least of his worries.

_You're just full of happy thoughts tonight._

_Night?_

He stood up, blinking to adjust his sight to the gloom. At least there was moonlight to help. He flexed his fingers, rolled his neck, caught a low-hanging branch and pulled himself up. He climbed the tree until it started to pull away from the wall, then leaned out, wedged his fingers and toes into the gaps in the stone and crawled upward.

It was well into the night by the time he reached the top. He rolled onto the ledge and lay there, panting, with his legs dangling over the side. His shoulders and legs burned, his fingers stung, and he knew if he tried to stand he'd simply keel over and fall right off the edge. The moon hung in the sky, withholding judgment on the scene illuminated below.

_Let's not try that again anytime soon, okay?_

_No kidding. Time to go._

With a groan, he rolled his legs onto the surface and slowly rose to his feet, leaning forward to direct any possible fall toward a lesser chance of death. Eyes glued to the stones under his feet, he staggered on.

By the time he reached the 217th house in the 96th district it was nearly dawn. He could feel the imminent sunrise singing in his veins, urging him to hurry. Finally he stood before the right address, a single story dwelling with a low-sloped roof and tarps covering the right hand corner.

They probably wouldn't be happy to have such a rude awakening, but he wasn't about to stand on the front porch and wait dressed like, well, an intruder in night camouflage. As he placed one hand flat against the right hand door, it swung inwards. He snatched his hand away as the hinges creaked. After a moment he stepped inside.

The house was dark. And it was really weird that the front door wasn't locked. Of course, considering part of the wall seemed to be missing it wouldn't make much of a difference if it _had_ been locked. He pushed the door shut, feeling oddly self-conscious.

"Uh, hello? Anyone awake?"

Heart pounding in his throat, he checked the rest of the house. Kitchen, empty. Bedrooms, all empty. It was the right house; the random articles strewn throughout identified the occupants quite readily. There was simply no one home. He wandered back to the main room, sank down on the bottom step and leaned against the banister. They had to come back sooner or later. He drew one knee to his chest, and let his head slump forward as weariness claimed him.


	23. Chapter 22

Aang didn't know what to expect after his frantic vision at the Eastern Air Temple. Rushing back to find the house in ruins, maybe. Rushing back to find Katara safe and sound, laughing at his insecurities and telling him to go back to the Temple and finish training. Rushing back to find he was too late, that Katara was gone forever.

What he most definitely did not expect was opening the front door and finding someone in his house. And yet there was. A tall, thin teenager in dark clothes slumped against the base of the stairs in the living room. His long shaggy hair obscured his face as he raised his head from his knees, blinking groggily as he pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes.

It wasn't until he turned to face the trio plus lemur in the doorway that Aang recognized Zuko. The Firebender seemed thinner, and although it could have been the effect of simply seeing him with hair, Aang thought Zuko looked more mature but oddly younger than he had a scant three months previous. Zuko breathed what sounded like a sigh of relief, the corners of his mouth lifting ever so slightly before falling again. Still, Aang had learned too much in the past few months to lower his guard. The two regarded each other for a long moment.

Then Zuko's eyes narrowed as he took a second look at the three standing in the doorway and the same question issued simultaneously from four mouths.

"Where's Katara?"

Stunned silence followed as the implication sunk in.

"Well this can't be good," Toph remarked, at approximately the same moment Sokka yelled, "What have you done to my little sister!" and lunged at the intruder.

Zuko scrambled to his feet, pressed against the railing as if it somehow held him back from retaliation while Toph grabbed Sokka's arm and jerked him short. He shook her off and adopted a fighting stance, knees bent, arms slightly forward and fists clenched. Both boys shared identically baleful expressions, although of course Zuko's scar intensified the effect as they stared each other down. Toph made an exasperated sigh and rolled her milky eyes, but neither boy attempted anything further.

Aang took a deep breath, in through the nose and out through the mouth, and tightened his grip on his staff. "Zuko, I don't know how you managed to get into Ba Sing Se, much less our house, but since you did, _what are you doing here_?"

"You know what? Forget it. I was going to give you a heads up on something, but now I guess I'll just let you figure it out on your own."

"Not so fast," Toph objected. "You obviously thought this was important enough to take a pretty big risk coming here."

"Well I changed my mind."

Sokka turned nearly purple in apoplexy. "What?! You think we're going to let you just walk away? You broke into our house!"

"The. Door. Was. Un. Locked." Zuko pointed out, considerably unamused with the entire situation.

"And Katara was already gone?" Aang asked softly. Momo nuzzled his cheek.

Zuko opened his mouth to say something appropriately rude, thought better of it and nodded.

"This is so not okay," Aang moaned, and sank to the floor in a heap, dragging his hands down his face.

Sokka looked from Aang to Zuko and back again. Finally he sighed and unclenched his fists.

"If everyone has decided to calm down and deal with this sensibly," Toph started. "We should probably compare notes." Her finger pointed imperiously at Zuko. "You start. How did you know where to find us?"

Zuko pulled the crumpled remains of the flyer from his shirt. "Someone left these all over the city," he replied dryly.

Sokka smacked himself in the forehead. "Gah. Why didn't I think of that?"

"Because you're a moron," Zuko retorted. "My turn. Why are you so freaked out about Katara?"

Toph raised an eyebrow. "He has a point. We don't even know if she's really in trouble. All we have to go on is what, some cosmic hunch?"

"I _saw_ her," Aang insisted.

"Yeah, after some weird guy made you _drink_ something. Am I the only one who remembers Sokka hallucinating on cactus juice? Maybe we should just relax a little instead of launching head first into full crisis mode."

Zuko studied Sokka critically. "I knew you were stupid, but- cactus juice?"

Sokka glared at him. "We got stranded in the desert and there wasn't any available water, okay?" Drawing up as much dignity as he could muster, he turned his back and knelt down next to his best friend.

"Toph might have a point, actually. Not that I think you were hallucinating. I'm sure you saw something. But you're still just learning all this stuff. My little sister is pretty tough. She can take care of herself. And we don't actually know that anything happened to her. You said yourself, all you could really tell was that she was in trouble and needed help. That could mean a lot of things."

"You know, considering I went missing thanks to Master Moneybags and The Rock-Brained Wonder, she might have decided it was safer to stay in the palace or something. She's probably trying to find _me_ right now, with Suki and all the Kyoshi Warriors."

Zuko's face suddenly shifted, and although Toph couldn't see it she felt the change in his emotional state radiate through the floor.

"What?" she demanded.

"The Kyoshi Warriors…"

Sokka glared at Zuko over his shoulder. "Yeah. Remember them? Bunch of kick-butt girls with war fans? You set their village on fire trying to catch Aang."

"I know. That's why I'm here."

Toph scrunched up her nose. "Huh?"

"I came to find you because they're not."

"What?" Sokka exclaimed.

"They're not the Kyoshi Warriors."

"WHAT?!" from three voices this time.

"They're not the Kyoshi Warriors," he repeated, and glanced at the ground for a moment before meeting Aang's worried gaze and adding softly, "And I think I know why Katara's missing."

***

Azula almost couldn't believe her luck. Not only had she slipped unimpeded into the very core of Earth Kingdom command, but once inside fortune just kept smiling. Everyone in the Palace treated her with deference due to her assumed identity, and no one questioned her inquiries into policy or current events. Of course, complacency was a weakness, so despite the intelligence already gathered and the plans formed, she continued probing for anything she could use.

Her current target, a mid-ranking general in command of a fort near the western coast, proved even more informative than most. He had come to the city on an urgent errand, he explained. Something to do with the Avatar and methods to harness the boy's power. She quickly discovered this same general had been appointed responsibility for Zuko's imprisonment, a task he had obviously failed. Despite this fact, which he blamed on his subordinate's ineptitude during his absence, he couldn't stop boasting about the conditions he had arranged for that confinement. She did not have to fake her interest.

"How fascinating, General Fong. I had no idea galena could block the sun's energy so dramatically. You say these deposits exist all over your territory?"

"The area once contained an active mine to harvest lead. The excavations are quite extensive and can only be accessed from the foundation of the inner fortress. Several of the larger resulting caverns have been converted to store rooms and prison cells. The properties of the stone itself inspired me to adapt one of those cells to house the Firebender, as he was known to possess a volatile temper and significant Bending capabilities."

Azula smothered her response to that assessment. True, her idiot brother lost his cool at the drop of a hat, but he could hardly be considered a powerful Bender.

"And yet he escaped."

Fong glowered. "A transgression which has been appropriately penalized, I assure you."

She ducked her eyes in feigned deference.

"Of course. But the prisoner, forgive me, _fugitive_, is still at large is he not? I understand he poses a threat to the cause."

"That will be remedied soon enough. I doubt the Avatar is aware of this but the former prince has been disowned completely. The Fire Nation even set a price for his capture. He can run as long as he likes, but he can't hide forever. He will be apprehended, one way or another."

"I quite agree."

They walked in silence for a while, and then Azula fixed her face with a thoughtful expression.

"Have you considered that he might be desperate enough to come after the Avatar?"

"Whatever for?"

"Why, to have a bargaining chip of course. Considering his outcast status, only an action of that magnitude could offer even the slightest chance to remedy his situation. He might even try to blend in with the populace of this very city to get close enough to strike."

"Such an attempt would of course fail, but you raise an interesting point. I will be sure to bring it to the Council's attention."

"Forgive my ignorance," Azula fawned, "but isn't the Council responsible for matters _outside_ the wall? I was under the impression that the Dai Li took care of things here in the city."

Fong stiffened. "There is considerable… tension… at present within the Court on that matter. The cultural police have recently lost the King's favor."

"Oh dear. I didn't mean to bring up… delicate issues. Dare I ask what happened?"

"The Grand Secretariat abused his position. Despicable man. He deserved far worse than mere imprisonment, but the Earth King is too soft-hearted to dispose of the scum properly."

"I see," Azula replied, and she did.

***

"You're telling us you think _Azula_ kidnapped Katara?" Aang asked incredulously.

"That's crazy talk." Sokka insisted.

"It fits the evidence. When I saw my sister, I wasn't certain it was her. I- wanted to be wrong but I thought I should warn you anyway."

"Why?"

Zuko shrugged. "It seemed like a better idea talking to _you_ than _her_. I'm not exactly held in _high regard_ right now. My father put a price on my head for failing him. My options are slightly _limited_. Besides, I figured even if you wanted to get rid of me I'd at least get a straight answer about things before you tried to lock me up again. Azula always lies." He considered his words and added, "Or not, if the truth serves her purposes better."

Aang and Sokka absorbed this. Toph shook her head emphatically.

"No, no, no! You're doing it all wrong. You're supposed to play on their guilt not gloss over the injury. Make them feel sorry they left you with the lunatic and _then _state your terms."

"I hate mind games."

She snorted in the most unladylike fashion she could muster. "Well no wonder you're such a misfit in the land of perpetual combustion."

Zuko opened his mouth to protest and shut it again. She had a point.

Sokka glared at the Earthbender and bent down to speak into her ear.

"Hey, whose side are you on here? You're giving him pointers on manipulation?"

Toph stuck her hand against his face and pushed. Sokka staggered backward.

"Just pointing out the obvious. Whatever your reason for not liking Flame Boy it doesn't change the fact that you screwed up big time. The scales are tipped in his favor right now, karmicly speaking."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You owe him."

"Do not."

"Do so."

"Do NOT!"

"WILL YOU TWO _STOP_ ALREADY KATARA'S STILL IN TROUBLE!" Aang shouted, Airbending to a standing position as he did. They stopped. Aang swiveled his head from one to the other to make sure it would stay that way, and finally turned back to Zuko.

"You're absolutely sure the person you saw was Azula?"

"Positive."

"How positive?"

"It's her, okay?"

"Just because he _says_ it's Azula doesn't make it true!"

"Sokka, why are so skeptical? Toph would be able to tell if he was lying, and Katara could be-"

"BECAUSE IT'S ZUKO WHO'S SAYING IT!" he roared, drawing his machete and pointing it at the offending party. "The same guy who chased us from one end of the planet to the other, the same guy who kidnapped you at the North Pole, the same guy who has a serious grudge against us just shows up out of the blue, at our house, having mysteriously infiltrated the last Earth Kingdom stronghold, at the same time you have a vision that something terrible happened to my sister, and claims someone _else_ is responsible?"

Zuko's lips pulled from his teeth and he stepped forward, knocking the blade aside with the back of one hand as the other clenched into a fist. He hissed through his teeth, and fire glowed briefly behind his lips as flames erupted from his hands and the stone around his feet. Sokka stepped back instinctively, and then fell into a defensive crouch. Aang raised his arms and spread his hands, eyes narrowed. Toph stepped back on one heel and raised an eyebrow.

Zuko jerked his head to the side, flames guttering as he fought for control. Finally he drew a staggering breath and they died away. He straightened and forced his hands flat against his thighs, eyes burning.

"Alright," he said, voice deceptively soft. "If that's what you want to believe, go on up to the Palace and find your _friends_. When your skin melts off don't say I didn't warn you."

He pushed Sokka aside with a sweep of his arm and started for the door.

"Zuko, wait." Aang called, turning briefly to Sokka. "Katara is in trouble. If Zuko's right all of Ba Sing Se could be in trouble. Working together is our best chance to solve this."

"Forget it," Zuko growled. "Honestly, I don't know why I bothered. I could have just laid low and waited it out. And I'm sure you're perfectly capable of taking care of this without me." He reached the door and pulled it open.

Toph struck her foot against the floor. A wave of earth rose from the tiles and slammed the door shut. Zuko scowled.

"Calm down, all of you," she commanded. Zuko crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the door, glaring daggers. She didn't notice, naturally. "Sokka, I understand why you're skeptical of the source, but I'd be able to tell if he was lying, and he's not. He's seriously pissed and I'm sure there's more to the situation than he wants to let on, but he isn't lying."

"But-"

"Don't interrupt. Do you know why I believe him? Because you didn't check. You didn't go to the outer wall to make sure the people claiming to be our friends actually were. You got distracted by the thought of seeing your dad again, and you just forgot to check. Unfortunately Katara and I didn't think to check either. We have no proof one way or the other."

Sokka buried his head in his hands. He couldn't deny that Toph's words made sense, but he also really really really didn't want to believe a moment of inattention had given the scariest Fire-witch ever born a free pass into the city. Into the very heart of the Earth Kingdom. And he remained highly suspicious of Zuko's motives. The jerk had showed up dressed like a sneak thief for pity's sake! How was that not a tip-off of very bad news? Finally he sighed and gave a muffled response through the cage of his fingers.

"Okay, say that's true. Azula would still need more backup than the usual two to attempt anything major. If she took Katara, where could she keep her? What would she use as a base of operations? Who would help her?"

Zuko leaned away from the door. "Azula always finds something to exploit to her advantage. She got in, and it's only a matter of time before she finds another opening."

Sokka refused to even turn around as he responded. "Even if what you say is true, that's not going to happen, okay? We know the Earth King personally, and we got rid of the corrupt freak that _used_ to be running the Dai Li, so everything's okay now."

"Oh, of course it is," Zuko sneered, and then checked himself. "Back up a bit- _what_ usual two with Azula?"

Sokka pulled one of his hands from his face and waved it to indicate a quality too vague for Zuko to interpret.

"There's these two girls who're always with her to do her bidding. One of them does crazy flips and smiles a lot and the other one throws-"

"-Shuriken," Zuko breathed and smacked his head against the wall, teeth bared. "That horrid little brat recruited Ty Lee and _Mai_ into this mess?"

"You know them?" Toph blurted, but recovered a half second later. "Never mind. Stupid question. Better one- why are you surprised? I thought you said you saw the fake Warriors."

"Only a glimpse- I couldn't afford to be made. I didn't recognize Azula by sight anyway- her voice gave it away. I figured she had a backup contingent, just not… It doesn't matter."

Toph noted the lie, let it slide and filed it away for future inquiry. Her head tilted slightly toward the front of the house. "Everyone on the same page now?"

Three heads nodded assent. Zuko grim, Sokka miserable and Aang conflicted but determined. "Yeah."

"Good, because a carriage just pulled up and I need you three to go hide in the bedroom."

"What?" Sokka demanded while Aang added "Huh?" in counterpoint.

"You aren't supposed to _be here_, remember? I am. Now move." She shushed the three boys toward the other room. Just before the door slid completely closed she muttered, "And keep your feet off the floor."

Aang slumped on the bed, pulling his feet onto the mattress and wrapping his arms around his knees. Zuko perched on a chair and Sokka settled next to Aang, heels balanced on the edge of the bed. On one hand Sokka didn't want anything to do with the former prince but on the other he was even less keen to let Zuko anywhere near Aang.

Out in the main room Toph smoothed her hair from her face and strode confidently across the floor. Her eyes narrowed ever so slightly as footsteps approached and a polite knock sounded.

"Just a moment!" she called sweetly and melted the obstructing rock back into the floor before opening the door. She felt the shadow of a tall figure blocking the sun and tilted her head upward. An impeccably attired Dai Li agent stood framed in the doorway, hands clasped behind his back, head slightly inclined to meet the girl's sightless eyes.

"Good Morning, Lady Toph. I have a message from Lady Katara. She would like you to join her and the Kyoshi Warriors at the Palace. I will be only too happy to escort you." The man started to gesture grandly toward the waiting carriage and checked himself.

Toph gave the barest hint of a grin at the aborted movement, but kept her words in the carefully polite tone she had mastered long ago in her other life.

"Katara sent you? I was starting to wonder where she'd gone. Gimme a minute."

Leaving the man standing in the doorway, she turned on her heel. He quickly followed her into the house proper, voice and manner overly smooth.

"If there's anything you need I'd be happy to oblige-"

"I'm perfectly capable of going to the bathroom on my own, thank you very much," Toph informed him curtly. The man turned bright pink and froze in shock before reclaiming his composure and standing at attention in the middle of the floor. A satisfied smirk crossed the young Earthbender's face as she entered the bedroom.

Three confused boys stared at her from their respective positions as she crossed the floor, slid the bathroom door open and then promptly banged it shut.

"Looks like we have a problem, guys," she whispered. "That dummy might think he could fool me into thinking he was just an ordinary Palace messenger, but there is _no way_ Katara would send Dai Li."

Zuko leaned forward, gold eyes glittering. "Didn't you say something about them earlier?"

Sokka rubbed at his forehead. "Yeah, we exposed the Grand Secretariat's disloyalty so the King had him removed from office and imprisoned. Why?"

"Because your sister is missing, an agent from the clandestine government branch you recently antagonized is claiming to represent her and Azula is in town looking for opportunities she can twist to her benefit."

Toph winced and sucked air through her teeth. "We really made this too easy for her, didn't we?"

"Well, it doesn't look like you provided much in the way of obstruction."

"Guys, guys, stop. We still don't know anything. All we have are groundless suspicions. We need more information," Aang whispered, fingertips pressed to his forehead.

"Not a problem," Toph smirked and took an Earthbending stance, shifted her hands and struck a heel against the floor.

In the other room, the Dai Li agent bit back a yelp of surprise as the tiles suddenly swallowed him to the waist, pinning his arms to his sides. Grinning like a jackal-shark the diminutive warrior led her companions out the door.

"What is the meaning of this-" he began, the words dying in his throat as he met Aang's implacable gaze.

"Tell us where Katara is," he demanded in a voice far deeper than a boy his age had right to possess.

"I don't know what you mean. I told Lady Toph she was with-"

"Azula? We already know who's running this little show, so don't bother trying to deny it," Toph hazarded. "I can tell if you're lying." The resulting vibrations humming through her bare feet confirmed all suspicions and her face went hard. The reaction did not go unnoticed.

The agent swallowed and changed tactics, abandoning false ignorance for attempted stoicism. It didn't work very well as Sokka snarled and lunged, swinging his machete and stopping it a hand span from the man's throat.

Zuko raised his eyebrows at the display and stepped forward, gingerly guiding the blade away with a single finger.

"Do you mind?" he hissed. "Before you accidentally kill our _only lead_?"

Sokka subsided with growl, his eyes trained on the pinned agent as Zuko stepped forward.

"Now then," he started in a perfectly reasonable tone. "I know you're afraid of Azula. Hell, anyone with even half a brain is afraid of her." He crouched down until he was eyelevel with the man, and tilted his head to one side. "Here's the thing," he continued, voice ominously soft. "She's not here right now." His mouth curved in something disconcertingly _not _a smile. "If I were you, I'd worry less about an _absent_ threat and more about the one _right here_. In case you hadn't noticed, these three people behind me don't like you very much. I can't imagine why, but since the first of them already has you helpless in her grip and can quite easily crush you into a boneless meat-sack, the second has a highly personal motivation to cut you into tiger-seal bait and the third controls a magnitude of power the likes of which I doubt you truly comprehend, I'd highly suggest cooperating."

He stood abruptly, eyes cast imperiously down, and the trapped agent shivered. Sokka's mouth dropped slightly while Aang sucked air through his teeth. Toph suppressed an appreciative whistle.

"You wanna talk now?" she asked.

He nodded frantically. "Azula and Long Feng are plotting a coup. They're going to overthrow the Earth King."

Sokka made a fist and stepped forward again. "We already knew that. Where are they keeping my sister?"

Aang stepped into place beside him, chin jutting forward as he twirled his staff to point in the informant's face. "Yeah. _Where. Is. Katara?!_"

"In the crystal catacombs of old Ba Sing Se, deep beneath the Palace."

Aang and Sokka turned to their resident lie detector for confirmation.

"Toph?"

"He's telling the truth."

"Then there's no time to waste. Let's go."

As they departed Toph called back cheerfully, "Don't worry, we'll send someone back to pull you out."

***

Mai was not amused. It was bad enough she had to keep wearing the ridiculous green uniform when Azula had discarded hers. The long heavy skirts twisted around her feet in a truly maddening fashion and the sleeves were absolutely useless for hiding projectiles. She had stowed as many blades as possible on her person, but without the familiar weight of her wrist launchers she felt vulnerable and exposed, even swathed as she was in yards of stifling fabric.

To make matters worse, the day before Katara had come running in to find "Suki" frantic with worry about something or someone, the words dying in her throat when she recognized Azula. Ty Lee had disabled her easily enough. Ordinarily this equaled "problem solved" because the trio could move on before the paralysis victim recovered. This time, however, they were faced with a slightly different problem. It was too soon to set the plan in motion, so Azula merely handed off the immobilized Bender to the Dai Li. She might come in handy later as a hostage or lure.

Katara was quite logically upset by this and struck back with the only weapon she had available- her tongue. Unfortunately Azula considered the "Water Tribe filth" to be so far beneath her the insults merely slid off, while Mai forced herself not to react and Ty Lee responded to the angry tirade by informing the Waterbender that "Circus Freak" was a _compliment_ with considerable venom. On the verge of forming a plausible excuse for speaking with the captive alone Mai could not help the surge of irritation when Azula promptly commanded her to take Ty Lee and watch the Earth King. Jaw clenched, she had obeyed.

Mai had gone to sleep resentful and woken to discover that far from dissipating the frustration had grown overnight. And now the prisoner was Agni knew where while she was stuck in this stupid outfit unsure if she was supposed to be babysitting the King, Ty Lee, or the thrice damned _bear_. Probably all of the above.

Tugging at the non-cooperative fabric, she tried to shift her position on the steps with minimal success. When Azula swept in practically gloating with satisfaction Mai took the opportunity to claim a quick break. There was no point keeping the disguises anyway. Ty Lee had decided she wanted to train the bear and trotted happily back to their rooms beside her silent friend.

"What's got you in such a bad mood?"

Mai settled the much more reasonable tunic over her pants and checked in the mirror to make sure all the rice-paste sludge was gone. Ty Lee insisted most theatrical troops used water as a base for the thick foundation but the pots they had taken along with the uniforms were apparently mixed with some kind of oil and nearly impossible to remove as a result.

"Ty Lee, we're friends, aren't we?" she asked quietly as they traversed the empty corridor back to the throne room.

"Well, yeah," the younger girl replied, unfazed by the gap between question and answer.

"And Azula is our friend, too?"

"Of course!" Ty Lee chirped, but Mai had known her long enough to spot the momentary hesitation.

"Sometimes I wonder if she remembers that little fact."

"What do you mean?"

"What are we doing here Ty?"

"Helping our friend and serving our country?"

"Serving. You've got that part right at least."

Ty Lee's famous smile dimmed slightly, and she studied the floor paneling.

"Yeah," she murmured.

Mai bumped her shoulder. "Oh cheer up. We're on the winning side, remember?"

"Oh yeah!"

Azula barely glanced at them when they returned. Ty Lee bounded forward, oblivious to the lack of consideration. Clapping her hands, she beamed at bear and King.

"All right, let's see if I can't teach Bosco something new!"

Mai settled on the steps to watch. At least the clothes weren't quite as bad. And losing the makeup was a definite plus.

***

"Well look who it is."

Kai stiffened slightly as the guard approached. He understood the obligatory tension between legitimate servants of the Kingdom and those who offered their services more liberally, but considering how many displaced civilians he had safely delivered to the harbor all these years you'd think the guards would lighten up. Or not, since they were the ones saddled with the responsibility of keeping the peace as those same folks swamped the harbor and all the relevant resources. Still, in the larger scheme of things they were all on the same side, weren't they?

Affixing a smile to his face, the mercenary turned and clapped the man on the shoulder. "You're just the man I wanted to see."

The guard's expression darkened a bit and his voice lowered. "I'm sure. I ran into a friend of yours a while back. Some poor ignorant sod that didn't even have a passport to his name. I fixed him up, of course. Covered the fee _personally_." Unspoken but blatantly evident was the caveat "And I expect my money back, with interest."

Kai opened his mouth to respond, mind whirring, and both men started when Iroh broke in, his voice loud and filled with unmistakable and exaggerated gratitude.

"You helped my nephew?" He grasped the guard's arm with both hands and bowed his head. "Oh, thank you, sir! I've been so worried since we were separated. People are not always generous these days. How ever can I repay your kindness?"

The prepared demand died in Li's throat as the surrounding area stilled and turned quiet, desperate eyes in a dozen faces waiting expectantly for his reaction.

Kai smirked ever so slightly as the guard coughed uncomfortably and muttered something about "No thanks necessary" and then tried to backtrack with a rationalization of "extenuating circumstances" and not being able to offer that kind of generosity to just anyone. Iroh seemed oblivious to the man's discomfort, gushing on and asking desperate questions, apparently oblivious to the interest he drew. When had the guard seen his nephew? Did he look well? When the flustered man finally escaped Kai smothered a laugh and Iroh smirked slightly.

"I have to admit that was impressive, old man."

Iroh shrugged and then straightened, tugging his clothes neat. "There are few things that attract unwanted attention like hysterical relatives, and few things that are more despicable than false virtue."

"And not only did he get slapped in the face by his own cunning, we have a concrete lead on the boy."

Iroh glanced up at him slyly, but said nothing.

***

Sokka and Zuko had arranged a shaky truce, and no one really felt like making idle conversation as they flew. Aang was lost in thought, torn between committing to "whatever it took" in order to rescue Katara and save the city, and extreme discomfort with the concept of violence in general, among other issues. Finally he tapped Zuko's arm to get his attention and raised his voice over the wind.

"I know you said you were on the outs with your father, more than before I mean, but you never really gave us an explanation for why you're doing this."

"Tough."

Zuko turned away, as well as he could considering the giant beast no longer possessed a saddle and he had to twist his fingers into the thick fur and press his body flat to keep hold.

"Look, I have my reasons, okay?" he shot back.

Zuko did indeed have his reasons for the present course of action. He wasn't entirely sure they were good reasons, or even if he completely agreed with them, but he had committed himself when the Dai Li agent entered the picture and it was a little too late to think of backing out.

A very large factor, one he hesitated to share in the present company, was spite. Azula always won. Everything was easy for her. It wasn't that she never had to work for it because she did, pushing herself harder than anyone else.

The thing was no matter how high the risk, or difficult the task, or slim the chance of success, it always worked out for her. Zuko knew all too well that life wasn't fair, and usually he managed to convince himself he didn't care. But sometimes he still wished it were slightly less _un_fair.

Azula always got what she wanted, and he was sick and tired of it. In all likelihood Ba Sing Se was as good as lost the moment she walked in but he didn't have to make it _easy_ for her.

And another little thing- Aang might be the Avatar, but once again Zuko was reminded how inexperienced and naive he was. Still a child. And his friends were the same. They had made a simple mistake, one with unfortunately devastating consequences. And the entire city could pay. The people here didn't deserve that. Jin certainly didn't deserve that.

Appa landed on the hillside with a groan and his passengers tumbled off. Zuko shook his head and watched the little Earthbender sink her fingers into the hillside. She had offered a belated introduction mid-flight, probably to ease the tension more than any sense of common courtesy, and then been stridently flattered when informed her reputation preceded her. ("Oh yeah! Who rocks? _I_ rock.") Hardly humble, but apparently her abilities hadn't been exaggerated in the slightest.

Toph quirked her head to one side as she felt through the earth beneath her palm. "Well whaddya know. There _is_ an ancient city down there, but it's deep."

Standing, she flicked her hands and a tunnel appeared in the hillside.

Sokka considered the tunnel momentarily, and then the others standing on the hill. "We should split up."

Aang nodded. "Since I can't really Firebend yet, Zuko should come with me."

"Yeah, it'll probably go better with the Earth King if Angry Jerk isn't along anyway. We should hurry if we want to stop the Dai Li in time," Sokka replied.

Aang nodded again and set down the tunnel as Toph and Sokka mounted Appa. Momo hovered for a moment, screeching his indecision before following the bison. Zuko hesitated at the mouth of the tunnel.

"Hey, you wanna give me some light down here?"

Shaking his head, Zuko drew a deep breath and summoned a flame in his hand. He set his attention on the fire and advanced into the darkness. Even wrapped in his own thoughts and worries, eventually Aang picked up on the Firebender's unease as they made their way down.

"I guess this is probably a little weird for you, huh?"

Zuko snapped his head up and stared at the younger boy before glancing back at the dancing flame in his palm.

"You mean trying to stop my sister? Not really. We haven't agreed on things for years."

"Oh."

They walked in silence for a while. Shadows danced on the tunnel walls. Aang dragged his gaze from the mesmerizing shapes and back to his companion. It wasn't his imagination- Zuko's shoulders hunched forward defensively, and his hands were curled around the flame as if he was afraid it would suddenly vanish.

"If it's not Azula, what's bothering you?"

"Nothing."

"You're lying."

Zuko stopped suddenly and stiffened, lips pressed in an angry line.

"It doesn't concern you, okay?"

"Is it Katara? She wanted to go back for you after we found out what kind of person the General was, but it kind of wasn't possible. If you're mad at anyone, it should probably be m-"

"I'm not mad."

"Well, you're upset about _something_."

"I told you, it's not your problem."

"But-"

"Just shut up and keep walking."

"Look, I know you want me to butt out of this, but if there's something that's going to cause problems I should kn-"

"It wouldn't _be_ a problem if you'd quit stalling and move faster than a snail-slug. Just make the stupid tunnel so I'm not stuck here any longer than I have to be!" Zuko exploded. The flame in his hand rose to the ceiling, throwing his face into stark relief.

Aang took a step back and the flame subsided. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry. It's just, I'm counting on your Firebending down here, you know?"

"Yeah, well at least I'm keeping my end instead of standing around like a moron. You're supposed to be focused on finding Katara, remember?"

Aang shifted the earth almost apologetically. As Zuko strode onward, Aang's head drooped slightly and he whispered, "How could I possibly forget?"

***

To their credit, the Royal Earthbender Guards recovered their composure quite swiftly when the giant flying monster descended on the Palace _again_. Sokka and Toph slid to the ground with a sense of unmistakable urgency and the Captain of the Guard advanced to meet them as his regiment snapped to attention.

"We need to see the Earth King and the Council of Five immediately," Sokka announced, "It's a matter of national security."

"Of course. The Earth King is in his throne room with the Kyoshi Warriors, would you like me to send for them to meet you in the council room? The Generals are gathering there now."

Sokka hissed in frustration, echoed by Toph a half second later.

"Guess we should have anticipated that," she glowered. The Captain looked confused. Sokka bit his lip.

"Well smart guy what's the plan?"

Sokka closed his eyes, hand pressed to his forehead. Why did this always happen? It was like the universe actively enjoyed messing with him. Sokka liked the Earth King, and it really wasn't the former puppet's fault he had less experience with practical matters than the boy himself, but the hard truth was Kuei was _still_ little more than a figurehead and not as essential to the war effort as the men who actually commanded his army. On the other hand, they needed all the help they could get and the people would rally around their monarch. He sighed, and then settled his shoulders and looked the Captain straight in the eye.

"I understand that you are sworn to the service of the Earth King directly."

"That is correct, sir."

"I _want_ you to take us to the Generals, but what you _need_ to understand is that we're trying to avert a threat to His Majesty. Now listen carefully, because this is going to sound absolutely insane and I don't have time to repeat myself. Princess Azula of the Fire Nation has taken over the Dai Li."

***

In one of many attempts to improve Aang's Earthbending, Toph had once kept him blindfolded for an entire day. At the end of that day his shins were covered in bruises and his feet ached like crazy, but he had managed to progress from merely feeling the vibrations in the earth to actually "feeling" the world around him through Earthbending.

It was a far cry from Toph's ability to identify people by footstep and recognize when someone was lying because of the minute changes in body rhythm and heartbeat, but Toph had grinned at the accomplishment. However slight the capability, she had said, he had tremor sense. Since that first attempt Aang had developed the skill until he could get a sense of his current location for several yards in every direction including _down_.

Deep beneath the surface of the earth with only a grumpy Firebender for company and a vague sense of _something_ to guide him onward, Aang realized just how woefully inadequate that ability was. As they descended, he caught snippets of the vast network of caverns and tunnels that held the ancient city- and realized how much more of it there had to be that he simply couldn't feel. How would they search all of that? How could they possibly find one single person in the maze? It was so big.

Aang glanced over at his companion, and wondered why Zuko kept the flame in his hand now that they had reached paths illuminated by green glowing crystals. Before he had a chance to ask, Zuko smothered the flame and held out his arm to block the path. His eyes narrowed as he stood perfectly still, and then without warning grabbed Aang by the shirt and pulled him into a crouch behind a boulder.

"Wha-" Aang began and Zuko pressed his hand over the other boy's mouth, shaking his head in warning. Distorted echoes filtered down the tunnel and Aang's eyes widened. Zuko removed his hand, face grim as he watched Aang catch on to the danger.

"Dai Li?" Aang breathed. He couldn't feel the treasonous Earthbenders, and he couldn't place their location by sound, but the sound itself had warned the boys and he didn't want to make that same mistake.

"Azula too, I think," Zuko hissed. "I can feel fire, just barely."

Aang blinked. He knew Firebenders had an intrinsic bond to their element, but was it normal for Zuko to be _that_ attuned to the stuff? Especially if the fire came from another Bender?

"If you sensed Azula's fire, do you think she noticed yours?"

"I can't be sure. I was focused pretty strongly on Bending, if she was thinking about something else maybe she didn't notice. But she is stronger than me. I just don't know."

"What do we do? The last time I fought Azula we were pretty evenly matched, but it sounds like she has a whole bunch of Dai Li with her. I can't take on a whole army by myself."

"You took out a whole _fleet_ at the North Pole!"

"I know." Aang looked down and hugged his knees to his chest. "That was different. I was in the Avatar State, and the Ocean Spirit was kind of- controlling me."

Zuko sighed, and then tensed as another spate of voices collided with stone and rolled down the passageway.

"How much further do we have to go? Maybe we can avoid them and still reach Katara."

"Idontknow," Aang mumbled into his knees.

"What?"

Aang lifted his head. "I don't know, okay? I can tell she's down here somewhere, but I don't know where exactly and I have no idea how long it would take to find her!"

Zuko swore under his breath. "Well that's just great. When were you planning on telling me this?"

"I didn't think it would be a problem!"

"You realize the most logical place for Katara to be is guarded by the Dai Li, don't you?"

Aang nodded miserably. Zuko sighed.

"You're going to be the death of me, you know that?"

The echoes sounded again, louder and closer. Aang flinched.

"I can feel them now. They're really close. I don't think Katara's with them."

Zuko stood abruptly and straightened his shirt. Then he took a deep breath and summoned fire in his hands. Aang gaped.

"What are you doing!"

"Drawing attention to myself and buying you time to rescue Katara, obviously. Try not to take too long. Judging from the size of the bounty on my head, this isn't going to be a happy family reunion."

***

The Dai Li had been poised to make their move, waiting only for the predetermined time to strike. The overthrow would have to be precisely synchronized, all five members of the Council removed before anyone caught on and the King quietly deposed with no one the wiser- at least until all the participants were in place to make the "transition" smooth and complete.

Toph and Sokka had ruined that.

Rumors and speculation had spread almost as fast as the genuine warning, and utter confusion reigned as the pandemonium swept though the compound. All bets were off. Confusion and disinformation warred against reason, with the predictable result: anarchy. No one was sure of anything, and as a result everyone became suspect. Eventually a contingent of Dai Li reached Long Feng and released him. The former Grand Secretariat and intended King-to-be attempted to regroup his forces and recover the situation, but it was too late. They had lost the element of surprise, and Azula's clean, simple plan rapidly deteriorated to quagmire.

While the battle for control had begun in earnest, the end result was far from clear to either side. Earthbending skirmishes erupted in courtyards and shook the nearby walls as bystanders ran for cover. The anxious tension released by Long Feng's arrest built to infectious panic and seeped through the compound. Servants abandoned their duties and ran, only to encounter entire sections of the palace locked down in an attempt to maintain order, trapping them in the conflict zone. No one was quite sure who, if anyone, held control, only that the strict discipline and order of the seat of authority had suddenly imploded.

In the residential wing of the Palace, one coolheaded noblewoman directed her guests to block the door with antique furniture, sweep the table clean of their interrupted luncheon and prop the improvised barricade against the windows facing the garden. This accomplished the ladies helped each other tie back the flowing sleeves and elegant drapes of their clothes, kicked off their shoes, and settled down to wait.

Others did not possess such foresight or advantageous location. As stability dissolved further and attempts to re-establish order failed the palace staff and resident populace splintered into factions. Some remained loyal to the King and Army while others sided with the Dai Li as the more likely projected victor, or were simply too afraid to oppose those who had ruled the city from the shadows for so long. These shifting alignments only helped to make things spiral more out of control, creating a self-perpetuating cycle.

By some incalculable factor (for intentional design had lost all power) the chaos had not yet reached the throne room, but skirted that location for more practical battlegrounds. In one of the outer courtyards, those members of the Palace Guard not deployed to quell the rebellion quickly determined that they could best serve their King by defending the Avatar's beast against all comers and snapped into formation, making a defensive perimeter of giant stone "coins".

Inside the council room, Momo sat in the middle of the table map surrounded by scattered troop markers as the Generals argued damage control and contingency plans, at points fluctuating between complete paranoia and adamant denial concerning the expanding conflict. Toph and Sokka looked on in frustration, although unaware just how badly the situation had deteriorated.

"What proof do you have this Princess is even in the city, much less orchestrating this rebellion?" one General demanded.

Toph growled in irritation and stamped her foot. "We already told you, the tip was confirmed by a _Dai Li agent_. He's still stuck at our house in the middle of the living room. Of course, by the time you check on that it'll be too late. She already set a trap for me, and she's probably setting another for Sokka and Aang because she doesn't know they're back already!

"We should rush the throne room and remove the imposters, declare martial law to re-establish order."

"That could stir up anti-monarchal sentiment if it isn't understood they were false. And what if they kill their hostage before we recover the situation?"

"The loss of the monarch could send the city even further into disorder."

"We should have executed Long Feng for treason."

"You think that would have made a difference? It's too late now anyway."

Toph groaned and leaned her head against a nearby column as they continued bickering. Useless. Sokka tapped his foot impatiently. Every time he found a space to interrupt or clarify something, one of the other Generals would jump in and turn the conversation in a completely different direction and he had to course-correct mid thought. Finally he just listened and waited for an opening.

It was oddly similar to the argument that had ensued at the North Pole following Arnook's pronouncement of the Spirits' ultimatum, only worse because as they argued the palace fell further and further into disorder. The conversation reached a lull, and Sokka gripped the edge of the table and leaned forward, voice deadly earnest.

"You have to evacuate."

The room fell completely silent. Toph screwed up her face in disbelief.

"Ex_cuse_ me?" she demanded.

"Look, I know you're Earthbenders, and you don't like giving ground, but trying to regain control isn't the best option here. As much as you don't want to admit it Ba Sing Se fell a long time ago to corruption and greed. Do you really think you can wrest back control from the Dai Li? Long Feng has been effectively running the city for the past _twenty years_. The Earth King has no experience actually ruling anything, thanks to your complicity with the former Grand Secretariat, and it's too late to change that. The structure of this entire city is collapsing from the inside out."

General How regarded him gravely. "What are you suggesting, boy?"

"Given how screwed up everything is already, I say let the Dai Li deal with the fallout. I know Ba Sing Se is supposed to be the last great bastion of hope, but it's not. It's not impenetrable and it's not infallible. Quite frankly even if you do regain control you'll just be stuck here in this crumbling ruin until the Fire Nation finds a way to break through the defenses and run you over. You can't keep relying on the same methods you've been using. They don't work."

He grabbed Momo off the map and handed the agitated lemur to Toph. Momo immediately pulled out of her grasp and climbed onto her head, using her mouth as a foothold. Toph made a face and stuck out her tongue in distaste. Oblivious, Sokka directed the Council's attention to the map.

"Instead of pooling all your resources into a sinking boat, you need to diversify. Establish strategic pockets of resistance. Utilize your superior knowledge of the terrain to hit hard and then vanish. You'll have to set up another center of operations, somewhere hidden, and you can keep people here to harass the occupying forces."

He placed several markers on the map.

"Of course, you have more experience with this, but striking back at these points would be a major blow to the Fire Lord's ego. Imagine what would happen to popular opinion and morale when areas thought subdued suddenly aren't and there's no clear target for retaliation?"

"What about extricating the Earth King?"

"Let us handle that." Toph interjected. "We know what to expect from Azula and her pet freaks and the King trusts us. Not to mention, flying him out would be the safest method of transportation."

Sokka held his fists in front of his chest and bit his lip as the Generals deliberated. They were decidedly less than pleased about the plan, but with control of the Palace _already_ slipping away like grains of sand through the fingers of a clenched fist it was hard to deny the bitter truth of Sokka's words. The Generals buckled down to perform triage: evaluate what could be reasonably recovered and ditch the rest.

Eventually they reached an accord. The Generals quickly divided responsibilities, determined logistics and added concrete details to the hastily rendered scheme. A fortification near Chameleon Bay was chosen as a rendezvous point, with a temporary capital placed further south in a mountain fastness on the far side of the bay.

As the plans were finalized General How pulled Sokka aside.

"You realize the population of this city will probably view this as abandonment. Many of the citizens of the Lower Ring are refugees who came here for the promise of a life safe from the Fire Nation. They may not understand. Many members of the _nobility_ will probably not understand."

"I know. But this way Azula gets stuck holding the bag for her arrogance, which buys us precious time. We can even still implement the invasion plan and strike back when it will count the most. I can only hope it will prevent worse losses here in the city than a full out battle within the walls… And it should ferret out the potential turncoats. You'll know all the people serving under you are loyal to the Earth Kingdom and won't stab you in the back for the promise of power under the Fire Lord's regime like the Dai Li did. It's not letting them win, or even cutting your losses. It's a feint in preparation of a powerful attack." He punctuated his words with expansive gestures.

"Understood. I just wanted to make sure you knew the possible backlash you may receive for your part in this."

Sokka shrugged uncomfortably. "That's kind of the point of being a leader, isn't it? Making tough decisions for the greater good?"

The General clapped his shoulder gruffly. "Just get the King out safely. We'll be waiting for you."

Sokka settled his shoulders in a way he hoped conveyed confidence and responsibility and How turned back to his fellow Generals. Sighing, he checked his boomerang.

"What's got you down, Mopey?"

"I hope we haven't just made a huge mistake."

"Sokka, you didn't say anything that wasn't true. I _hate_ the idea of retreating and regrouping, but I honestly can't think of a better alternative. More importantly, neither could they, and it's their _job_."

"I know, it's just- I already told the Resistance in Omashu that it was better to run and choose a better time to fight, and here I am doing it again."

"This city is already a lost cause. You know it, I know it, and _they_ know it." She gestured toward the Council with her thumb. "Besides, the Dai Li started this. It's high time they learn to clean up their own mess."

I have anonymous reviews enabled because I realize that occasionally people don't want to bother setting up an account but still might want to leave something to say. However, sometimes these comments really beg a timely response, and without the PM capability that comes with having an account any such reply must wait until the next chapter update, a gap of 2-3 weeks on average. I therefore strongly recommend taking 30 seconds to set up an account if your review contains questions or issues that require in-depth discussion. It's a whole lot easier for me to get back to you that way, and then the chapters contain actual storyline and not lengthy chunks of explanation tacked at the bottom. (Like this one.)

Willow- If this subject is currently on your mind I can see why you are finding correlations, especially given your pre-existing aversion to the character. It may be that any possible justification for her actions would fall flat to you. Please note that the term "Nuremberg Defense" refers to a highly specific kind of rationalization and consider the following: 1) As written, Mai does not actually rant about her actions in this manner (all this and more could have flashed through her mind but it didn't) and 2) the passages in question do not qualify as a "Nuremberg Defense" regardless.

One crucial difference is that we are not dealing with grown men buying into a fanatical mentality and taking refuge in submission to authority but a young girl just coming into her own starting to question the mental paradigm she was raised in from birth. The point is, wrong or right, prior to this realization Mai _believed_ she had no choice and now must decide for herself what to do about her situation.

Obviously this answer as given may not be detailed enough to satisfy you. Please keep in mind that I have given a lot of thought to this and similar issues but was planning on addressing them in-story at a slightly later date, not all at once academic style. If you want a more in-depth response I can provide that. It would include a number of factors such as: situational context, pedagogy, indoctrination, magnitude of offense, cult programming/deprogramming, personal responsibility, psychology, Confucianism, perceived necessity, perceived power, perceived powerlessness, duration of oppressive regime, European and Asian feudalism and an examination of the character in question and her actions in canon. (Whew.)

As for Mai herself, as a secondary character there simply isn't as much material to extrapolate from, so anything I do will seem OOC to someone. I don't happen to find her a shallow character and my writing reflects that. For one thing, it is simply more interesting and gives me more to work with as an author if I flesh her out. ;) You are of course entitled to your opinion, and I look forward to any future commentary.


	24. Chapter 23

In the ruins of the ancient city, Katara knelt on the cold earthen floor and tried to ignore the hunger gnawing at her stomach. She had already berated herself at length for assuming the Kyoshi Warriors were the genuine article when it would have taken only a short side trip to confirm. It was too late for such regrets, anyway. Azula had slunk into the city and now she had the Dai Li wrapped around her wicked fingers. Katara shuddered.

The Dai Li were bad enough with Long Feng calling the shots. Now they answered to an even crueler master, and no one even knew it. In their careless innocence, Katara and her friends had let the Fire Nation in through the front door and it was only a matter of time before Azula made her move. Katara had no doubt that plan would somehow involve her- why else capture her alive?

She had already checked the walls for weak points or seeping water, and there was no chance of escape. There simply wasn't enough Spirit Water in the vial around her neck to justify wasting it in a frantic attempt to break free either. Even if she kept hitting the exact same spot over and over it would take ages to make any progress and somehow she didn't think the water's "special properties" included miraculous rescues through divine intervention or dissolving solid stone on contact. There was no use denying it- she was well and truly stuck.

Katara had to admit name-calling wasn't the most mature reaction she could have attempted upon capture, but what else was she supposed to do? Ty Lee confused her. Her abilities were downright chilling, even if the effects were only temporary, but the acrobat never showed the same kind of malice that Azula regularly displayed. Determination, anger and dismay yes, but not cruelty. She even seemed to have a crush on Sokka. Then there was her retort to Katara's insults, and the unshed tears glittering in her eyes as Katara was taken away. Strange. It didn't make sense.

Still, better to wonder about her than the emotionless knife-thrower, Mai. Katara couldn't shake off the _intent_ evident in the girl's steely eyes as she looked down at Katara's paralyzed body. Intent of _what_, Katara was unsure, and that was the unsettling part. Katara was somehow a subject of keen interest, and she had no idea what that interest might be. She wrapped her arms around her knees.

Since getting caught, she had been given very little to eat and only given water to drink while the Dai Li were present, no doubt to prevent her from taking any of the precious liquid to use against them or try to escape. Katara couldn't help but wonder if such treatment was normal practice for the Dai Li, the Fire Nation, Azula in particular, or simply a method to keep her relatively helpless. Easier to control. She could ignore the discomfort for now, but after a few days…

No matter how she tried to distract herself, Katara's thought always came right back around to wondering what Azula planned to do to her. It was not a comforting thought. Was this how Zuko had felt all those months ago? Drowning in the anxiety of a formless yet undeniable threat and so profoundly _alone_?

Sokka had meant well, she knew that, but keeping the exile, their _prisoner_, in the dark all those months ago seemed far less necessary now and so very harsh. No wonder Zuko had snapped at her at first and then been desperate for even uncivil interaction.

Being stuck all alone with nothing but the thoughts in your own head and no way of knowing what would come next completely at someone's mercy was a horrible torment in itself, she discovered. Her own fears and worries taunted her more ruthlessly than Azula ever could, simply because she knew herself better than the princess did.

She was bait. Katara was sure of that much, at least. As hard as she tried, it was impossible to find a way _not_ to be bait. Her friends would come for her, just like Azula wanted. Toph would come. Sokka would come. Aang would come.

Except that Toph hadn't shown up after going to visit her mom, which had prompted Katara to find Suki in the first place. And then Suki- _wasn't_. Toph was missing, and Sokka was with Dad at Chameleon Bay with the Water Tribe fleet, and Aang was at the Eastern Air Temple. What had happened to her friend? How long would she be stuck here? What if instead of coming to save her, they thought she was already dead?

Katara tightened her arms around her knees and rocked back and forth. She would not give in just because Azula stuck her in a hole. She was stronger than that, wasn't she? She was a Master Waterbender, and the Avatar's teacher. She could heal people. She had saved Jet's life, even though he was a jerk. She could make stew out of almost nothing, and scold her brother into agreeing with her, and she'd kept the group together in the middle of the desert when there was no hope in sight.

And none of that could help her now. She fingered the cord around her neck and then the cool stone of her pendant. Sniffling, she let her head fall forward onto her knees. Silent tears made tracks through the dust on her face.

***

Azula smiled grimly in the eerie green light. Things were proceeding exactly as planned. The Earth King, naive fool that he was, suspected nothing. With Mai and Ty Lee to stand guard, it would stay that way. It was truly remarkable how trusting the man was. Like a child. A gullible child who saw the world outside as a grand adventure and desperately wanted everyone to love his slavering beast as much as he did. The Earth King seemed overjoyed that Ty Lee shared such affection for his pet. Azula wondered if she ought to give the King to the acrobat as a pet once she had consolidated power- in her exalted father's name, of course. It wouldn't do to seem - overconfident.

The Earth King had been a most useful source of information. She had learned a number of details she was sure would interest her father, but the most pressing issue was the Avatar's temporary absence. It was obvious he was expected back in the city, and equally obvious that no one knew _when._ Which was why Azula was directing efforts in the forgotten metropolis. She could wait as long as she needed. Indeed, an extended incarceration would make the Waterbender far more... tractable. Not that Azula needed cooperation from the object of her plan. No, the princess simply intended to get all the preparations out of the way as quickly as possible, so that when the Avatar _did_ show, she'd be ready. One word from her blood-red lips, and the prize would be hers.

The city itself would fall far sooner, of course. The Dai Li were already in place to remove the Council of Five. They had only to wait for the right moment to strike, and everything would fall into place.

She sighed in satisfaction. It was remarkable, really, that the walled city had held out for so long when it was obviously ripe for the picking. Then again, few people could compare with Azula's sense of timing, or her ability to find opportunities just waiting to be used, or her deadly perception of character. It really wasn't fair to all the lesser creatures down below, but really, why should the world be fair?

Anyone with the power to claim dominion obviously deserved such a position, else how could he- or she- have attained it to begin with? In Azula's mind there was no such thing as "sportsmanship" or "cheating". Any leverage, rank or ability was fair game to use. It was the natural order of things for the cleverer, faster, stronger types to come out on top. It wasn't an issue of morality- morals were merely societal conventions used by inferior beings to justify their weaknesses. There was no right or wrong, only power. Those with power, and those without. That was just how things worked.

"Is something the matter, Highness?"

Azula stopped tapping her fingers and glared at the man who had dared approach her un-summoned.

"You seemed…agitated. I merely wanted to know if there was some detail you find lacking."

Azula sighed and waved him away. "No, it's not you. Go back to your work."

But now that he had mentioned it, there was something pulling at the edge of her attention, demanding notice like an insistent child tugging at a mother's skirt. Eyes widening, she summoned blue flame in her hand and whirled around, head tilted upward.

Her brother Zuko, disgrace of the nation, stood on a ledge regarding her with an unreadable expression and tossed a ball of flame from one hand to the other. If not for that illumination he might have melted into the darkness around the ledge, save for the pale of his skin and the red of the scar under the tangle of black hair.

"I heard you were looking for me," he called, and the flames flattened out and twisted around his fingers.

When Azula had first received her mission, it was assumed Zuko would be found in their treasonous Uncle's company and completely unaware of the charges against him. Knowing her brother for a sentimental fool desperate for their father's approval, she had developed the perfect snare. She could still recall every word and every inflection, all precisely calculated to entrap his trust. Now, however, Zuko was perfectly aware of his true status, and had already proven himself greatly averse to the idea of "coming quietly". She knew what action the present situation demanded, and it was not a web of clever words and deceit.

She brought her arm out straight, directing the flame with the first two fingers of her hand. Zuko blocked the fire bolt with a shield of orange and yellow.

Azula smirked as she readied her next attack. And to think she had been worried chasing Zuko wouldn't offer any amusement.

***

Her chest still hurt, but the tears had all been spent. Katara sniffed and took a deep breath. Maybe she was stuck here, and maybe she couldn't do anything about it, but she wasn't about to let Azula win that easily.

The nebulous anxiety was still there, and she suspected it wasn't going to leave anytime soon, but all in all she was feeling a lot better now that she'd had a good cry. Lighter, if slightly damp and out of breath. She got to her feet and twitched her skirt, shaking off some of the dust. And then nearly jumped out of her skin as the wall exploded.

Coughing from the dust, Katara looked up and barely had time to gasp in surprise before Aang caught her up in a crushing hug. She hugged him back, and then pulled away.

"Aang you have to run, it's a trap. Azula-"

"Shhh, I know. Okay? I know. Toph and Sokka went to warn the Generals about the Dai Li. Everything will be okay, but we have to leave now."

Katara nodded.

"I was so worried she'd use me to hurt you."

Aang hugged her again, and then grabbed her hand and led her out through the hole in the wall and down the passageway.

"How did you find me down here?"

"I'm not really sure, actually. Toph found the city, but to be honest it's kind of a maze. I think maybe you called me somehow- it felt like something was pulling me to take one path or another."

Katara stumbled in a patch of gloom where the crystal weren't as thick.

"Slow down, I can't see."

"Sorry."

"What's the rush? I thought you said Toph and Sokka were taking care of things."

"They are, but Azula's down here, and I'm kind of worried about what she might do to Zuko."

"ZUKO!"

Aang turned back and smiled sheepishly. "Didn't I mention that? Sorry. He's the one who told us Azula was here. I'm not really sure why. I kinda got the feeling _he's_ not sure why."

"So I was right…" Katara breathed, but Aang was too focused on running to notice.

As before, Aang heard the Dai Li before he felt them. Motioning for silence, he led Katara to a lookout formed by a collapsed wall in the upper story of what had once been a house. Moving as quietly as possible, Katara settled beside him and gazed out at the cavern, placing both hands over her mouth to muffle the involuntary gasp at the scene.

Azula stood surrounded by a ring of Dai Li agents, face imperious as she gazed down at her brother. Zuko gasped for breath and looked straight ahead, not meeting her eyes. His left leg was sunk into the solid rock floor up to his knee, and the right jutted out to the side at an awkward angle to keep balance. His hands were bound behind his back by Dai Li rock-gloves. His clothes were singed and torn, and as the friends watched from concealment Azula struck him across the face, leaving parallel scratches across his forehead with her pointed fingernails.

Zuko laughed, a short sharp bark that held no humor.

"Wow. I must have struck a nerve somewhere. What's wrong, little sister? You didn't used to jump right to business. I was expecting something a bit more…vocal."

Azula sneered. "Why waste my breath on you? " She leaned forward. "But since you mentioned it…"

Her hand trailed from one shoulder to the other across his back and then squeezed, fingers seeking the gaps between the bones.

"You are pathetic, Zu Zu. You know that, don't you? What did you think you'd accomplish by challenging me? Death in combat instead of rotting in a jail cell like you belong?"

"No."

"Then what, brother? You know you're no match for me."

He didn't answer.

"You might as well tell me. What did you hope to accomplish by challenging me?" She repeated, bending to lean close to his ear. "What did you hope to achieve by attacking Zhao and stealing the Avatar from him? Trying to usurp glory from the legitimate party?"

"Father appointed _me_ to find him."

"No, Father commanded that you couldn't come back unless you captured him. Father _appointed_ Admiral Zhao." She tskked. "Even if you intended to claim the Avatar as your prize and presented him to Father, attacking your own nation's forces for personal satisfaction qualifies as treason."

"Oh, please. We both know that if you had done the same he would have applauded your initiative and claimed it proved you were strong enough not to let anything get in your way."

"True, but I wouldn't have failed. And you, well, you _are_ failure. Time after time you had the opportunity to prove yourself, reclaim your honor. And every time, you let the Avatar slip through your fingers." She straightened. "Maybe you just didn't want it badly enough to make the necessary effort."

Zuko snarled. "You know that's not true. I almost killed myself to satisfy him."

"Pity you failed that as well. It would have spared a lot of embarrassment for the rest of us."

Zuko glanced down and growled, "He never intended to let me come back anyway and you know it."

Azula clapped languidly. "Bravo, brother. Did it take you all this time to realize that? Three years… Everyone else caught on right away. Well, not Ty Lee of course, but then…"

Her voice trailed off as a slight tremor ran through Zuko's body. He inhaled sharply, nearly panting from the stress of some invisible crushing pressure.

"What's the matter, Zu Zu? Walls closing in? How long do you think you can keep this up? How long can you keep pretending…" She molded her face into a mocking approximation of concern. "I know what they did to you. It's ingenious, really, keeping a Firebender in a cell surrounded by lead ore." She twisted her fingers into his hair and forced him to look at her. "Of course," she purred, "If you'd come along months ago I could have made sure Father was merciful with you, maybe even arranged an agreeable…house arrest… far from the capital where you couldn't make trouble and shame the family further. Now, of course, you've guaranteed your punishment will make that conceited General's oubliette pale in comparison."

Zuko snarled. "He has no mercy. And if Mom could see what you've become she'd die of shame."

"Mom's already dead, Zu Zu. Get over it."

She released him and straightened as a second group of Dai Li entered the cavern.

"You'd better have a damn good reason you're down here instead of supervising preparations."

"The Avatar and his companions are in the city, Highness. They- warned the Council before our agents had time to get in place."

"What."

"The Earth King is of course secure, but the Palace has become a battleground. Agents are salvaging the situation as we speak."

"I told you the timing was essential! Why weren't you prepared? Bungling fools," she spat. "What are you doing down _here_?"

"The girl…"

"What about her?"

"When our agents entered the cell to check on her the wall had been breached. Reports place the blind girl in the Palace grounds-"

"So the Avatar came to save his little girlfriend, did he?"

The agent swallowed nervously, beads of sweat gathering on his forehead. "It's unlikely they've gotten too far."

Zuko laughed. "Looks like your fancy plan's falling apart. Guess you don't always get what you want after all."

Azula snapped her head down, comprehension building to fury on her face.

"You. What did you do, you faithless worm?!"

Zuko laughed again and Azula kicked him in the stomach. As he doubled over with a groan Aang's hands clenched into fists.

"I suppose you're right," Azula informed the messenger, face eerily pleasant. "After all, it's unlikely that someone as _idealistic_ as the Avatar would come all this way to rescue one of his friends only to leave another one behind. You," she pointed, "get back to the surface. You, split up into teams and search the catacombs. I want them found." She watched her brother fight for breath with grim satisfaction as the agents dispersed.

Up in their hiding place Aang and Katara clasped hands so tightly they left marks on each other's skin. They hadn't heard quite all of the conversation, but they didn't really need to.

"That- she's insane…how could anyone…he's her _brother_…" Katara breathed.

Aang was focused on something slightly different. "Katara," he whispered, "Do you see what I see? Over there."

Katara follow the direction indicated by his finger. On the far side of the cavern, something glistened. Katara narrowed her eyes. It was hard to tell from the angle, but it looked like a long narrow trench filled with-

"Water."

They turned to face each other.

"Can you fight?" Aang asked softly.

Katara considered her weakened condition, the twist in her gut, the formless dread that still hovered just above her skin, a million unseen eyes on the back of her neck. She closed her eyes, and then looked out across the cavern. Zuko was still bent forward, panting. She felt her spine straighten and her jaw set.

"I'm ready whenever you are, Aang."

The air blast caught Azula completely off guard. She recovered before Aang could cross the floor, spinning on her shoulder and up onto her feet even as she kicked fire toward him. He blocked with a wall of earth and then sent a ripple through the floor, knocking her off balance. Snarling, the princess retaliated.

Zuko lifted his head and stared. His breath came ragged still, and sweat dewed his forehead as he fought to resist the force overwhelming him.

After the exchange of a few blows, it seemed Azula had gained the offensive. As she advanced, Aang suddenly grinned and vanished underground. Azula turned just in time to see a wall of water rebound from the floor and descend on her as Katara entered the battle, fully armed and hungry for payback. The princess collapsed under the torrent and rolled away, glaring as she rose to her feet dripping to take on this new opponent. Aang popped up a few feet from Zuko, settled into a Bending stance and struck the ground.

"Sorry it took me so long," he apologized as the rock surrounding the exile softened and Aang pulled him free, crumbling the restraints to sand. Zuko sagged slightly and Aang frowned. He hadn't seen the previous fight, but he knew the insane amount of damage Zuko could sustain before admitting injury and Zuko had been alert and defiant only several moments ago. Now his eyes were glassy and distant, skin clammy under the Airbender's touch. As Aang pulled the older boy upright he realized Zuko was shaking.

"Aang, look out!"

Aang dodged the fire blast; Zuko didn't. It grazed his arm and his mouth opened slightly, but that was all. No retaliation, no hiss of pain, no stream of curses. His breath simply came faster and faster, in jagged fits and spurts. Aang rolled to his feet and tried to ignore the sinking in his gut. He had never seen Zuko afraid. Angry, worried, and displeased, yes. Maybe _anxious_, but never straight up terrified. And yet as whatever-it-was built and dragged Zuko further away, the expression on his face resembled nothing so much as sheer encompassing panic. Something was very, very wrong.

"Katara get over here!"

The second attempt to swap didn't work quite as well since Azula had caught on to the game. Aang sent attack after attack to trip her up, desperate to buy Katara time. Azula blocked every shot, but she didn't seem able to push the battle in her favor either. With Katara otherwise occupied Aang couldn't gain the upper hand, but neither could the princess. He couldn't keep this up forever, and Azula's new Earthbending forces could come back any minute. They had to get out of here, break free from the battle. It wasn't the easiest task in the world even without having to worry about what had petrified Zuko.

As Katara approached him the Firebender sank to the ground and curled forward, hands pressed to his head as he hunched over his knees. Acting on instinct, Katara pulled water, filled it with energy and placed her glowing palms over his hands. Something surged and she stumbled back, unsure if she had fixed anything or just made things worse.

Then the Dai Li came back.

***

Rescuing the Earth King was almost too easy. Going in with the anticipation of their opponent's styles, Toph simply pinned the acrobat to the floor on entry. Kuei responded with pure shock, which gave Sokka ample time to usher him along while Toph took on Dangerous Lady Number Two. Mai simply rolled her eyes at the theatrics.

"Don't forget the bear, Your Majesty," she called in a complete deadpan and sat down on the steps to the dais.

Toph hesitated, a head sized section of the floor hovering at chest height waiting for her punch.

"Don't even think about it."

Toph dropped the rock with a thud and left, warping the door handles together behind her.

Mai sighed. Ty Lee twisted her head around and regarded her friend with wide eyes. Considering she had been walking on her hands and landed in a bridge when the rock-chucking dwarf encased her hands and feet in stone, the gesture looked downright unnatural.

"Azula's not gonna like that you did that."

"So? " Mai stood and walked toward one of the still-functional doors. "You all right like that for a while?" she called over her shoulder.

Ty Lee managed a passable imitation of an upside-down shrug.

"That's what I figured. Hold on Ty, I'll see who I can grab to get you free."

***

He couldn't breathe he couldn't breathe he couldn't breathe there wasn't any air, there wasn't anything to breathe and it was so heavy, so very heavy all around him and there wasn't any space. There was too much, too much pressure crushing down and he couldn't breathe, couldn't move, couldn't think and it was too much too much. No air no sky no sun no sun no Sun no SUN no _fire_ it was all extinguished, drowned, crushed to nothing and it was never coming back. No more heat no more light no more good or bright or alive bring it back make it stop make the dark stop make the hurt stop make it go away it would never go away stopitstopitstopit no please, please- where is it where did it go it was here, he knew it was here right here and gone, where is it bring it back no more pressure no more fear, where is it where is the spark give it back give it back _giveitback_-

Ignored by the combatants Zuko curled on the floor by a stone pillar, locked in internal battle. He had fought to keep control as long as he could, but it wasn't enough. The world outside didn't exist anymore. He could barely feel his own body as he collapsed further into himself, drowning in unadulterated fear as he searched for the missing piece. Smaller and smaller he contracted, until there was no more room to shrink into. Huddled to nothing, he found it. A miniscule ember, burning brighter and brighter with every breath and he finally broke free. Shaking and dazed, he opened his eyes to bright green LIGHT.

_I'm sorry Katara_

The words were faint and distant, half-heard. He wondered at the regret, so unlike the suffocating fear threatening to drag him back down even as he scrambled free.

Coughing, a tongue of flame flickered briefly. The stone floor was cool under his skin, burning and chilled simultaneously. It hurt to breathe, but he drew deep grateful breaths anyway to keep the flame alive.

Zuko pushed himself up on one elbow, unsure how or why he had gotten where he was. He felt weak and completely disoriented. Still trembling slightly he staggered to his feet and studied the battlefield. Katara faced off against a group of Dai Li several yards away on the other side of the channel, water spread up and around her in long tentacles. There were too many for her to deal with all at once, but they couldn't get past her defenses. Stalemate.

Blinking, he leaned against the crystals and looked the other way. Azula stood backed by more Dai Li, all focused on a glowing pyramid of crystal that he was fairly sure hadn't been there before the dark crushing void swallowed any rational awareness. It glowed far brighter than anything else in the cavern, and he had to squint against the glare. As he watched crystal shards retracted into the ground but the glow remained, turning blue rather than green as a single figure rose from the ground to hover high above.

A flicker of movement drew his attention and he saw that his sister had moved from her former position and taken a Bending stance behind the Avatar's back.

The silence of anticipation shattered as he screamed. There was no time for any kind of elegant action or lengthy plea. He could have screamed "No" or "Don't" or "Look out", but the word that instinctively fell from his cracked lips was instead simply "Azula".

Like most people, Azula had learned to react instinctively to the sound of her own name, and that reflex distracted her the tiniest bit just as the split streams of energy rejoined at her fingertips and crackled upwards toward the Avatar's unprotected back. Instead of entering the boy's heart, the lightning bolt hit slightly to the right and down.

The cavern filled with stark shadows, and Aang arched backward, mouth opened in a silent, and silenced, scream. The light radiating from his tattoos faded, his eyes closed, and he fell.

Katara had thought her tears all spent, but more sprang to her eyes as she watched the living vessel of her hope plummet from the air. Drawing strength from some reserve she didn't even know she possessed until that moment, the Waterbender _pulled_ at the channel and rode the resulting wave, catching the limp figure before he hit the stone. Aang groaned weakly in her arms, and then stilled.

Azula summoned a barrage of blue fire, and Katara didn't even flinch as it approached. If the battle was lost than she would die right there with him. She gasped as orange fire swallowed the blue. Zuko's flame rose in a dome to shield them, and he let it feed straight from his emotions to keep Azula at bay.

"Get up!"

There was no sympathy in Zuko's voice, only urgency.

"_Move_ you idiot!"

Rough hands grabbed her shoulders, jolting her out of the daze. Zuko wasn't really in better shape than she was, physically or mentally, but he had more experience with the world falling to pieces around him so his recovery time had adapted. Katara scowled at the former prince.

"I'm an idiot?" she hissed. "What was with _you_?"

"Really not the time," he countered, fingers tightening around her arm. Katara let him drag her upright, shifting Aang's weight as she rose. She had carried him piggyback before, but he seemed heavier somehow like this.

_Dead weight._

_Don't think that. He's still breathing. I'm sure he's still breathing._

She didn't question where Zuko got the energy to defend their retreat, or the way he seemed super-aware of every attack headed their way. Orange fire flashed against blue. Rocks shattered to dust, pulverized in mid air. He held his face in a mask as his body danced the deadly patterns more familiar than simple human interaction, clockwork steps that flowed without the need for conscious thought. Katara pulled the stream around the trio in a spiral, Aang slumped against her side, and they rose on the column of water to freedom.

They broke through into the evening sunlight, and she collapsed. Water drained away around them as Katara laid Aang along the ground and fumbled for the cord around her neck, pulling the vial free of her shirt she drew the Spirit Water from it.

The amount seemed pitifully small as it hovered above her palm, but it glowed of its own accord and as she held it to the wound the water seeped into the damaged tissue, disappearing completely. His tattoos flashed briefly, Aang's breathing calmed and he sighed. His eyes scrunched and then opened.

"That…hurt," he murmured.

Katara's face broke into a rather watery, relieved smile and she hugged him, careful not to let her arms touch the edges of the raw wound. Her joy was cut short by a curt observation from Zuko as he surveyed their location.

"We don't have time for this."

Katara glared. "Excuse me?"

"They should be here somewhere, and they're not."

Aang winced and searched the hillside.

"Zuko's right. Toph and Sokka should be up here by now, but I don't see them anywhere. Something must have gone wrong. We have to get down to the Palace."

Aang's voice wavered slightly, but stayed mostly firm. Katara nodded, and shifted to carry him again.

"Give him to me."

Katara couldn't help it. Even after all the time on Pakku's ship, and everything she had learned from Iroh, and the battle they had just fled, _that_ command in _that_ voice had only one possible response. Her arms tightened protectively around _her_ Avatar and when she looked up to meet Zuko's gaze her eyes were hard and angry.

Aang flinched from the sudden pressure and cried out, silencing the furious retort on her lips. She loosened her hold and swallowed.

"I can take care of it, thank you."

"Don't be stupid. You can barely lift him. You won't be able to fight, and your attention will be distracted."

She considered this as Zuko knelt down. He had a point. Older, bigger and a boy to boot, Zuko simply had more physical strength to spare than she did.

Aang touched her arm and smiled wearily. "S'okay, Katara."

She nodded briefly and settled Aang on Zuko's back. Zuko hooked his arms under Aang's knees and rose to his feet, leaning slightly forward to compensate for the boy's weight and weak hold.

Few words were exchanged as they descended the slope.

***

Rescuing the Earth King had been too easy. The aftermath was not. The Earth King had surprised Sokka by comprehending the situation far more quickly and perceptively than anticipated, his long face growing solemn as the friends summarized the current state of affairs as they navigated the labyrinthine halls of the Palace.

"So what you're telling me is that you accidentally allowed Fire Nation agents access to the heart of my realm and into my personal confidence. Princess Azula, who I believed to be your ally Suki, has stepped into the power vacuum created by Long Feng's removal and she now commands the secret police. The entire Palace is in upheaval that will soon spread throughout the rest of Ba Sing Se. And you want me to abandon my post, my city, and my subjects and flee to a hidden stronghold while my army engages in guerilla warfare in order to keep the Fire Nation Military distracted while you plot to remove the Fire Lord from power. Do I have that right?"

Sokka grinned uncomfortably. "Um, basically yes?"

Kuei sighed and held a hand to his forehead.

"Well", he said.

"Yeah."

"This is an unfortunate development."

"Yeah."

"Umm, guys?" Toph interrupted, hand placed flat to the floor. "We should probably keep moving."

Kuei shook his head sadly. "My Generals agreed this was best?"

"Your Majesty, unless you want to discover first-hand what your own dungeon looks like I highly suggest we _move_." Toph insisted.

"Yes, of course," Kuei murmured distractedly. Toph sighed in exasperation and grabbed his arm, ushering him onward. Sokka made a face, and then did the same for the bear.

***

Katara had worried briefly that the odd trio might be stopped as they tried to enter the palace grounds, but they could have been painted bright blue and walking on their hands and still not attracted attention- if anyone had been there to notice. Part of the palace wall had been completely destroyed, exposing a deserted courtyard. Some of the paving stones tilted up from the ground and a crack ran through a fountain. The damage was oddly precise but random.

Shouts floated over the walls from other parts of the compound, but it was impossible to make out individual words. They stepped through the gap in the wall, and Katara simply stared.

"What happened?"

Zuko studied the damage critically. "I'm guessing Azula's coup, but I can't tell if this means the Dai Li won or lost."

"That seems really weird to me. Wouldn't Azula want to oversee things herself?"

"Apparently someone didn't bother to wait for her signal. Orders get mixed sometimes, you know. It- usually causes a lot of trouble."

"You want to explain that better?"

Zuko sighed and hitched Aang further up his back as they crossed the ruined courtyard. "Garbled orders can mean losses by friendly fire, soldiers killed by their own forces because of the mix up. Or a troop will charge after a truce has been called, igniting the conflict all over." He stepped around a pile of rubble and kicked a loose rock out of the way. "Azula likes precision and control. This kind of disorder- something went wrong."

Aang lifted his head from Zuko's shoulder. "Wouldn't that be good? For us?"

"No. We still don't know who came out on top, or if the fight's still going and we just hit a quiet spot. We don't know who's taking what side, or how bad the casualties might be."

Katara wrapped her arms around her waist and tried not to think too hard about the possibility that her brother or Toph might count as "casualties".

"How are we supposed to find them?" she whispered.

Aang lifted his head and a weary smile crossed his face as a familiar shape glided toward them.

"I don't think that's going to be a problem."

Zuko frowned, looked up and caught sight of the lemur. Momo lighted on a nearby lamp and chittered, tilting his head quizzically. Katara reached out and he jumped into her arms, made himself comfortable and then turned his luminous eyes back the way he had come.

Fuzzy little body clasped to her chest Katara led the way down the hall, Zuko following a few steps behind. Momo couldn't decide if he should continue looking the way they were going or pay attention to his boy, listless and pale on the Firebender's back, so he kept snapping from one to the other.

Footsteps echoed down the hall and Katara released her hold on the lemur, reached for her waterskin and realized she was unarmed. She exchanged looks with Zuko, who gently lowered Aang to the floor and took a defensive stance. Aang leaned against the wall, and then on instinct placed his hand against the floor.

Four distinct sets of feet echoed through his awareness- three human and a _bear_, and then the runners came into view around the corner.

Katara breathed a sigh of relief and ran forward to embrace her brother. Zuko relaxed his stance but did not move.

Sokka returned his sister's hug with equal enthusiasm. "Thank goodness you're all right! Things went kind of sideways on our side." He pulled away and scanned the hall, and upon not finding the face he sought, looked down.

Aang lifted his hand in a minimal wave.

"Hey, guys."

Sokka stared and Toph swallowed hard as she focused her attention on the echoes Aang's body made through the stone.

"What happened!?"

"Azula happened," Zuko muttered darkly.

"Yeah, things went kind of sideways for us too," Aang added with a loopy sort of smile. "Zuko gave me a piggyback ride. Isn't that thoughtful? He's a nice guy…"

Incredulity filled Zuko's face and he whirled to stare at the boy on the floor. Aang swayed and then giggled. Zuko swore, knelt down and grabbed the boy's shoulders, pulling him away from the wall. Aang's head flopped back but he didn't stop smiling. Sokka and Katara rushed to their friend, dropping to the ground on either side.

"Oh, this is not good…" Katara murmured.

"Did she drug him or something?" Sokka demanded.

Toph folded her arms over her chest.

"He's in shock, you numbskull. We need to get going."

Sokka glanced from Toph to Zuko, eyes frantic. "This is normal?"

"Considering my sister nearly killed him, yeah. The good news is, until this passes he won't really feel the pain. As much."

Sokka peered at his friend's back and blanched. The wound was the size of a man's palm, burned startling red and seeping fluid. Aang shivered as he leaned against Sokka's shoulder. Sokka turned to his sister.

"Can't you use the Spirit Water to heal this?" he demanded.

"I already _did_."

Sokka looked at the wound again and then back at his sister, horrified.

"I feel dizzy," Aang muttered.

"No worries. I'm going to give you a piggyback ride now, okay?"

"Oh-kay."

Zuko stood up and backed away as the siblings tended their friend. Someone coughed politely and he turned, noticing the tall man for the first time. He had a long, scholarly sort of face and a bookish demeanor emphasized by the small round spectacles perched on his nose. He was clothed from head to toe in rich satin, jade beads draped from his neck, and he wore a strangely shaped hat with intricate decorations, including the small-square-in-circle-in-larger square motif frequently used to denote the Earth Kingdom. That symbol was repeated on his belt buckle, and he even had some sort of cape. Zuko wondered why they hadn't simply tattooed "Important Official" on the man's forehead.

"I don't believe we've been introduced."

Zuko blinked at the impeccable formality. Toph rolled her eyes.

"His Majesty the Fifty-Second Earth King, informally known as Kuei, Former Crown Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation. Former Crown Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation, His Majesty the Fifty-Second Earth King, informally known as Kuei," she intoned, gesturing as appropriate.

"Ah. Um, Your H-"

"Just Zuko." At the man's questioning look he added, "My father put a price on my head. Seems like a pretty solid indication I've been disowned."

It was Kuei's turn to blink, and he did so. "I see."

There was an awkwardly long pause.

"You seem to have a rather- unusual- family dynamic, Zuko."

"You have no idea."

Bosco pushed his head against Kuei's side, demanding attention.

"What is that?"

"His pet bear," Toph offered and flicked something off her fingers.

Zuko looked at the animal, the king, and then back to Toph, mouth slightly open but no clear response forthcoming.

"I know," Toph said, and patted his arm. Zuko realized one hand was half-raised in disbelief and lowered it.

"All set, guys," Sokka called, Aang bundled groggily on his back. "Let's find Appa and get the heck out of here before something else happens."

Toph sounded out the way ahead of them, avoiding the clusters of violence erupting throughout the palace. Occasionally, a particularly jarring blast shook the walls around them, releasing dust from the ceiling. Aang didn't say much, seemingly content to simply drape his arms over Sokka's shoulders, rest his head, and let the others take the lead for a while.

Finally they reached a wide corridor with multiple doors branching off. Toph halted partway down the hall, head tilted as she scouted the surrounding area. The course that led toward the courtyard where she could feel Appa waiting with a contingent of loyal Palace Guards _seemed _clear, but she couldn't shake the feeling there was more to the situation than she could readily sense.

"Just choose a door already, would you?" Zuko snapped.

"I'm trying to be careful. We really can't afford another fight right now."

"We can't afford to waste time, either. Which one goes the direction we need?"

"That one," Toph pointed.

"Is it clear or not?"

"I can't tell, okay? Something's off."

"Well, I guess we'll just have to find out the traditional way, won't we?"

Zuko strode toward the door in question. Just as he grasped the handle, Toph felt a tantalizing ghost of movement on the far side, like the caress of silk curtains blowing across her skin. Her eyes widened in shock as she registered the action as something wood scooting slightly against the floor.

"Zuko, don't, there's someone-"

Too late. He swung the door open, and froze.

"You didn't really think I'd let you get away that easily, did you?" asked a familiar inflectionless voice.

Mai swung into the doorway, bracing her hands on either side with one foot on a table flush to the other side of the wall. Graceful as a hunting cat, she shifted her weight and flowed through the door and into the light.

Three years had changed her. The shy skinny girl of Zuko's memory had been replaced by a willowy teen nearly as tall as he was. Gone was the awkward stiffness, the brief lapses in composure. She held her face still, perfectly in control, and he couldn't read anything of what might be underneath that porcelain surface. Then again, Mai had never been too keen on showing her feelings even to those close to her.

Zuko could only stand there, staring. The others, however, quickly prepared themselves for a fight. Mai didn't even turn her head to look at them. Without a word, the stone-faced girl grabbed Zuko's shirt in both hands, pulled him close and kissed him fiercely.

Sokka felt his jaw drop, and the rest of the party responded similarly. Toph recovered first, her annoyance at the knife-witch besting her tremor sense with _decorative furniture_ replaced by a wicked smile as she felt Zuko's heartbeat quicken.

Finally Mai pulled back and let him go, standing perfectly still at arms distance. Zuko let out a long slow sigh. His brain seemed frozen for some reason, and it took a moment before the situation really hit him.

"Mai…" he breathed, "What are you doing?"

The tiniest hint of a grin pulled up one corner of her mouth.

"I know when I'm outnumbered. And I couldn't risk letting you disappear without saying goodbye- _again_. Did you miss me?"

Zuko closed his eyes briefly. During most of the past three years he hadn't allowed anything to distract him from his mission. He couldn't afford to waste time or energy on anything that wasn't related to that goal. Getting his life back was the only thing that mattered. Mai had been part of that life.

"Yes." She looked different in green. It made her eyes stand out.

"I tried to write, once. Then I realized I had no way of knowing where to send the letter. I asked my father how ships stay in communication if they're always on the move. He knew immediately what I intended and reminded me that any attempt at contact might compromise the family standing with the Fire Lord." Mai's usually even tone turned bitter.

"You probably shouldn't risk getting on Azula's bad side, either."

"I can handle her." Azula might know the older girl's weaknesses, knowledge gained from years of intimacy before Mai had perfected control of her emotions, but that sort of familiarity cut both ways.

"I still can't believe she dragged you into this."

"Beats the alternative."

Zuko sighed and nodded. He knew exactly what she meant.

"I didn't plan this, you know," he whispered, glancing away and then flicking his eyes back up to meet hers and folding his arms over his chest. "I didn't mean for things to get messed up like this."

"You never do." She reached out gingerly and brushed a stray lock away from his face, hesitantly tracing one finger around the outer edge of the scar and down to his jaw. Zuko squeezed his eyes shut and tried not to flinch at the unexpected touch, although the gesture was not entirely unwelcome.

"Get out of here. Don't get caught."

She pulled her hands away and stepped back, face emotionless once more. There was no hint it had ever been anything else.

Zuko swallowed. "Watch your back."

"Why do think I keep Ty Lee around?"

Zuko smiled weakly. "Right."

"I thought the _bear_ was weird," Sokka muttered, finally recovered enough for a coherent response. "But this-"

"Is _really_ weird." Katara finished.

"I'm not sure I understand why my pet confuses you so, but this certainly confuses me." Kuei offered. "Zuko is an outcast, correct? He _is_ on our side."

"Well, he's not on the Fire Lord's side anymore at least."

"I see. Then what exactly is _she_ doing?"

Toph cracked her knuckles. "As far as I can tell, flirting with high treason."

Without warning she stomped down, wrapped a chunk of rock around Mai's wrist and stuck her to the opposing wall. She couldn't see Zuko's indignant expression but felt the anger rising through his body to radiate through the floor.

"Relax, Firebug. The lady said to leave, and it's way more believable like this."

For a split second something resembling respect flashed across Mai's face. Her mouth twitched.

"Not bad. Since you failed to ask at the obvious juncture I suppose I should tell you that your friends are still alive. I don't know where they've been sent of course." Her piercing eyes sought Katara's icy blue and held fast. "And _you_ would do well to remember that the safest place for your thoughts is inside your own head."

Katara's eyes widened, but before she had the chance to respond Toph grabbed her arm and pulled her away.

"Let's _go_, Sugar Queen."

There was a glint of steel under the fingers of Mai's free hand, and as the motley band departed five gleaming spikes sunk into the wall where they had been standing. Mai closed her eyes and leaned her head back. It was too soon to tell if she had made a mistake, and too late to take it back. Oh, well. The results out to be interesting at least.

The group reached Appa without further incident, clambering onto his broad back and twisting their hands into his shaggy fur as he launched into the air. The Captain of the Guard saluted grimly as they left.

As they leveled out and headed south over Ba Sing Se Kuei watched sadly. He knew barely anything about his own city, his own country, or its people. Everything he knew was gone. He had failed.

"The Earth Kingdom has fallen," he whispered, and the wind caught his words and tore them to ribbons.

***

Azula stood before the Earth King's throne, features tight as she surveyed the assembled Dai Li. There were gaps in the ranks, gaps she noted with the same clinical disgust she applied to the rest of the aftermath. Ty Lee pressed her lips together in apprehension, hands clasped behind her back. Mai rubbed her wrist briefly, abandoned the gesture, and slipped a dagger into her palm to clean her fingernails.

"Your incompetence is nothing short of astounding."

Azula's words fell with the weight of a death sentence.

"Perhaps if you had been there to rally the forces personally…" Long Feng attempted.

"I shouldn't have needed to," she snapped. "The plan was perfect. Simple. Efficient. And yet somehow you let it fall to pieces. The entirety of the secret police could not stop the interference of _two children and a pet bat-monkey_. You told me you controlled the city. That you held all the critical positions necessary to assert complete dominion. And yet a substantial number of the military including the Council of Five, several prominent members of the nobility and even some of the resident staff have all managed to _vanish completely_ from Palace grounds."

"I suspect they took advantage of the ongoing chaos."

"I do not accept excuses, Long Feng. Especially not from my subordinates." At his reaction, she smiled mockingly. "Oh, yes. You thought you were my equal, perhaps? Or even my better?" She laughed, never taking her eyes from her quarry. "You think I didn't know you were planning to turn on me as soon as I gave you the city? Perhaps I should give you a taste of how we punish such crimes in _my_ country. A demonstration always works wonders for my father."

Long Feng inclined his head, acknowledging defeat. "There is no need, Princess. You have beaten me at my own game."

"Don't flatter yourself. You were never even a player."

The Dai Li, now officially Azula's personal army, took their former leader into custody and dispersed, leaving the trio alone. Azula seated herself on the Badgermole throne, legs crossed. With the incident resolved sans violence, Ty Lee relaxed a bit and resumed her usual exuberance.

"Wow. For a minute there I thought he would actually try to challenge you!"

"Even dogs have brains. He recognizes a larger predator when he sees one, as do the Dai Li. Also, he hopes I will find him potentially useful and advise father to spare his life." She shifted slightly, propped one elbow on the arm of the throne and rested her head against her hand, considering her companions.

"Tell me, Mai, what exactly happened with the Earth King?"

"You know perfectly well what happened, Azula. After Ty Lee was pinned I saw no point in getting myself similarly incapacitated for no gain. I sent help back for Ty Lee and followed the retreating forces." She held out her hand and exposed the expanding bruise around her wrist. "The result of that is fairly evident, wouldn't you say?"

As Azula had actually seen the stone cuff pinning the knife thrower to the wall as well as the steel blades embedded near the door she accepted the evasion.

"And Zuko?"

Mai shrugged and covered the bruise. "The scar's not as bad as I expected, although otherwise he looks like some mongrel scarecrow." She shuddered. "And he _has_ run off to join the Avatar's little freak show."

Azula smiled briefly.

"At least you got to see him before he disappeared this time," Ty Lee offered philosophically.

Mai turned her head slightly, quirking her lips in a smile that neither of her companions could see. "Yeah. I did."

***

High above Ba Sing Se Appa flew silently onward. Stars twinkled in the indigo sky as the last hint of light faded and the air fell chill. Katara held Aang clasped against her as he slept, succumbed to exhaustion. She had done all she could with the Spirit Water to heal him. Any further ministrations would simply have to wait. The Earth King sat morosely next to his pet, the normally animated beast subdued as well. Toph and Zuko rode behind him, clutching Appa's fur and respectively pre-occupied. Sokka gripped the reigns, Kuei's defeated words echoing in his head. He tightened his grip and turned Appa southeast.

_The Earth Kingdom has fallen_.

"Not yet, it hasn't," he growled.

Below them the city settled for the night, not yet aware of the events that had transpired beneath, and behind, palace walls. Whatever he had said to the Generals aside, Sokka was painfully aware that his plan boiled down to mere damage control. Losing the entire city was a devastating blow, one that had been minimally softened by hasty contingency plans.

It _would_ be a lot harder to fight now the great walled city was under Fire Nation control, but the war was far from over. They could still win this. They had to.

The real fight was just beginning.


	25. Chapter 24

This is a public service announcement: as the author I reserve the right to manipulate not only the characters but also you, the reader. It's part of the game, and I swear there is a purpose behind the madness.

That said how'd you like the sucker punch? (Laughs evilly.) Reactions seem split about how I expected… I know the kiss was a bit shocking. Just- keep that thought for a chapter or two, m'kay? There's other stuff that needs to get cleared up first.

I'd also like to take a moment to clarify a few points regarding the story as a whole and my specific goals with the project:

1- Give Zuko significant motive to support a reversal of his choice in COD. I can't help thinking it would take a tad more than a single conversation with Katara to make him throw away everything he believes in. Or rather _believes_ he believes in. Boy's more twisted up inside than a Chinese puzzle box.

2- Extrapolate a more in-depth view of the world and the characters. The show is amazing and I love it to death, but it was targeted at children. While the creators did an incredible job addressing such harsh issues as genocide, total warfare and justifiable homicide it still skirted around some of the things that would logically exist in the setting. There simply wasn't enough time to explore the potential of all the characters, either.

3- Make things complicated. I don't mean plot-wise. Although the show does touch on the fact that life is rarely "black or white" and includes examples of "bad" Earth Kingdom and Water Tribe people and "good" Fire Nation people, the basic premise is fairly simplistic. Again, meant for children. Reality tends to be messier.

4- Raise the stakes. For example, instead of some angry peasants glaring at his back, Zuko has to run like hell from a lynch mob.

5- Investigate some of the possibilities hinted at but not explored in-show. Character abilities, the Spirit World, political structure, etc.

6- _Keep_ the original romantic interest pairings. I realize this choice is potentially divisive. I understand the appeal of alternatives and do appreciate them but I have heard too many times that the canon pairings are "boring". So I decided to test that theory and see how much mileage I could get _without_ shuffling emotional attachments. It's a personal challenge. Please note that keeping the same _pairings_ is not the same thing as keeping the same _relationships, _because the characters involved have deviated from canon. Follow?

7- Temper drama and angst with humor and light/heartwarming moments to create a well-rounded and balanced work. (Go ahead, you can laugh, it's funny… I'm trying, though!)

8- Write the story to the best of my ability and stick to my guns. I marked out most of the plot over a year ago, it just takes time to flesh out and write down. I _do _appreciate feedback and constructive criticism, but I also have a specific vision in mind and intend to keep it. I've spent too much time and effort not to. That said, I'm always fascinated by responses (_especially_ if you catch something I didn't consider) and always always always flattered if my humble-yet-overgrown plot bunny o' doom catches your interest. (If you notice obvious technical errors please for the love of all you keep holy tell me _where_- the manuscript is over 300 pages!)

Still with me? Brave soul. I applaud you and reward you with this tasty offering:

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

After the display in Full Moon Bay, when Iroh charmed his way past a particularly hideous ticket agent with over-the-top flattery Kai didn't even bat an eyelash. He did dissolve into laughter further down the road, however.

Kai had never been a fan of the public monorail. True, it was fast and efficient, but it was also crowded. Not a good place to be trapped if things turned ugly, way up high and completely dependant on the Earthbending engineers.

Besides, he knew a guy at the post relay station who only charged half-fee for a mount if you agreed to carry a parcel or two on your way into the city proper. He only offered that deal to people he personally trusted, of course, and the sender of many of those packages _preferred_ unofficial channels. If Iroh had any suspicions about the arrangement he had more sense than to utter them.

Valley-bred ostrich horses were tall, lean, and fleet of foot and the odd pair made good time across the farmland. They raced past homesteads and open pasture, stiff corn, squat soybeans and waving rice in terraced paddies, stopping as needed for fresh mounts. Kai recognized a few faces at the checkpoints but didn't stop to chat. He couldn't risk the possibility, however slim, that a well-connected individual might recognize his companion and he couldn't shake the sense that he needed to reach the Weeping Demon as swiftly as possible. Iroh shared that sense of urgency, but for more personal reasons.

Despite that haste, when the riders noticed a cart abandoned at the edge of the road they slowed to investigate. The cart itself was ordinary, but it held a tall metal box bound with lengths of chain and the driver's seat was decidedly vacant. The ostrich-horse hitched between the cart shafts stood placidly browsing. The men dismounted and approached cautiously, boots crunching the displaced dirt. Muffled voices sounded from the box, one loud and brash and the other decidedly not.

"I told you not to trust her!"

"But you fell for it as well."

"Shut up!"

"Ow! Move your elbow."

"Excuse me," Iroh called pleasantly. "Are you all right?"

The voices fell silent and then fists banged furiously on the walls.

"Get us out!"

Iroh motioned for his companion to keep quiet and Kai stood back to watch, expression speculative. Even distorted by the thick steel plating, Iroh thought the two sounded oddly familiar.

"I'm afraid we have no way to free you," he apologized. "How did this happen?"

"We were transporting a dangerous fugitive and the little freak duped my partner," the louder voice answered. There was a mumbled defense from said partner and muffled thuds against the walls.

Kai stepped forward then, his eyebrows quirked in curiosity. "Little freak?"

"Yeah. She looks like an innocent little girl but she's actually a powerful Earthbender."

Iroh's brow knit. He definitely recognized the voices, now. And he could think of only one person their description fit; from the look of things Miss Toph Bei Fong had discovered a way to manipulate _solid metal_.

"Oh, dear. That sounds dreadful. Hold on, we'll send help for you."

He motioned for Kai to follow his lead and mounted up, barely waiting for the younger man to settle into the saddle before racing off at breakneck speed. Kai caught up as the older man let his ostrich horse settle into a more reasonable pace. Pulling alongside he reached out and laid his hand on the bridle strap of Iroh's mount.

"What was that about? I'm certain you could have found a way to free them somehow. Or simply driven the wagon."

"I've crossed paths with those two before. They may be Earth Kingdom, but their only true allegiance is to money. And the girl they claim trapped them happens to be a friend."

"Is she really that dangerous?"

"Oh, yes. A most charming young lady, Miss Toph. She has taken the Avatar as her student, you know."

Kai's grip went slack. He had of course heard the flying rumors in Fan Rong Men Hu and elsewhere of the Avatar's Earthbending companion, rumors that included details identifying that same person as a notorious Earth Rumble favorite. "_You know the Blind Bandit_?"

Iroh's eyebrows rose comically. "I believe she does use that name. How is it _you_ know her?"

"Well I don't personally, of course, but I _have_ seen her in the ring. Young lady, huh?" Kai whistled. "Way she fights, most folks figure she's a midget, not a kid."

A smile wreathed the old man's face as he held up a finger in mock stern warning. "You should not mock those of us with a lower center of gravity. When the world knocks us down, we have less far to fall, and get up again quicker."

Kai knocked back a swallow of baijiu and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Well, there is that I guess. Come on, there's another station a little further on. We can, ah, alert them to your friends' predicament."

Iroh nodded, but thoughts strayed elsewhere. If those two greedy idiots had been attempting to remove Toph from the city, it stood to reason that she and her friends were staying there. He could only hope Zuko did not realize the Avatar's presence, or that the boy had finally come to his senses and abandoned the hopeless quest his father demanded.

***

Toph hated flying. It was bad enough when she had to walk on wood floors and couldn't feel anything around her, but up in the air on Appa's back was even more of a disadvantage. It had been unnerving when she could hold onto the edge of the saddle, but flying like this, clinging to a giant shaggy creature who knows how far above solid ground- it was only through sheer stubbornness that she could even pretend not to be terrified.

Kuei didn't like flying either, but at least he could _see_. She was totally helpless. Not that she'd ever admit something like that. Except that she'd been holding on for dear life most of the night and her hands were getting tired, she couldn't hold on anymore and she was slipping…Her mouth opened to cry out for help and then she gasped as strong fingers closed around her wrist and held fast. She swallowed.

It couldn't be Kuei. He was farther up, towards Appa's head, and probably wouldn't be brave enough to let go for even a second. He probably hadn't even noticed she was falling. Sokka was "driving", although Appa probably had a better idea of where they where headed than he did, and Katara and Aang were sitting on Appa's neck. It definitely wasn't Momo, and the bear didn't even have hands... She reached up and felt until she found a wrist, knotted with muscle but oddly bony.

A smile broke out over her face.

"Thanks, Zuko."

She felt muscles bunch under her touch, and her body slid across Appa's fur as he lifted her further onto the broad expanse of the bison's back. Once she was settled, he let go and placed his arm on the other side of her body, just in case she started to slide again.

Sokka remembered all too well that Appa had his limits and couldn't keep flying forever. He guided the bison toward a likely looking clearing, near a dark shadow that just might be a cave. The bison landed with a weary groan, and the riders tumbled from his back.

The cave was dry, and uninhabited. Katara guided a half-conscious Aang to the flattest spot she could find and he sank to the ground, folding into a fetal curl. She settled beside him, too tired to risk Healing him. She'd have to wait until her strength returned and hope the delay wouldn't make things worse in the long run. Momo curled himself up next to the boy and fell asleep.

Appa settled himself with a long groaning sigh, and Toph waited until the great beast's breathing became regular and slow before Earthbending a solid wall across the cave entrance.

"Thanks, Toph," Sokka mumbled. Now they could all sleep safely, for a while at least. He leaned against Appa's flank and settled down for the night. After a moment's hesitation Kuei followed his example as Bosco curled up nearby. Toph flattened a spot for herself, close enough to feel Appa's body heat. She almost offered to repeat the favor for Zuko, simple repayment, but he was already passed out against the wall.

***

Jin wasn't worried Shen had forgotten about her, she was terrified something had happened to him. She forced the worry to the back of her mind, just in case he was merely late. She waited by the fountain, checked the nearby streets in case he was only lost, and finally accepted that he simply wasn't coming. She knew something had _prevented_ him from keeping his word.

She didn't know _what _had happened, but her gut insisted it was bad.

Setting out extra early the next morning Jin made her way down the twisting byways of the Lower Ring to the Weeping Demon, where the innkeeper informed her that the boy had gone out two days previously and was expected back. Jin smiled politely and left; expectation or no she knew Shen wouldn't return. Distracted, she nearly bowled into the two men entering the courtyard, ducking her head in apology. Had she been paying attention she might have noticed the older, short man's eyes were the same odd color as the boy she sought.

The same vague unease that had troubled her since the previous night followed her back to the Middle Ring and Master Pei's print shop, tightening to a gut-clenching anxiety when she entered to find the shop already bustling with activity under the supervision of a Dai Li agent. He examined her briefly with piercing eyes and dismissed her just as brusquely, hands clasped behind his back.

Forcing herself to breathe calmly, Jin swallowed her rising panic and strode forward. Master Pei greeted her with a smile, but it did not reach his eyes.

"Ah, Jin. I'm glad you are here. We need all available hands just now." He gestured toward the agent. "We have a large order to fill as quickly as possible."

She nodded and set to work, covering her plain green robe with an ink-stained apron and rolling up her sleeves. It seemed all other orders had been set aside to work on this one, and she wondered at the urgency of the job as well as the source. Master Pei was an intelligent, diplomatic man, but she knew him well enough to know he was no avid supporter of the cultural police. True, he had refused to print anything for Jet, but that was merely good sense.

That the Dai Li had not only commissioned work but left an agent to oversee production obviously did not sit well but Pei hid the unease, seeking refuge in standard civility. Fortunately the work was routine enough that Jin could simply lose herself in the familiar repetition, grinding out the pigment and mixing it to the proper consistency for printing.

When Master Pei appeared at her side and gently rested his hand on her shoulder she jumped at the touch and then apologized, blushing with embarrassment.

"It's all right, child. I suppose everyone is a bit on edge just now."

"What do they want?"

Pei studied her for a moment before nodding as if deciding something in his head.

"I think we have enough ink for now," he announced in a louder voice, tightening his hand on her shoulder briefly. "Time to test the print blocks."

She followed him without a word, grateful that carrying the ceramic pitcher of ink hid the tremors in her hands. She could feel the agent's scrutiny even through the walls of the workshop, although it must have been even worse for the printers on the main work floor, backs exposed to his searching gaze.

Jin's father had insisted that his children receive a better education than he himself possessed. Jin was no scholar but she was perfectly literate, a skill that had given her the opportunity for a job like this instead of mere drudgery. Mixing ink might be tiring work, but she had breaks, reasonable hours and days to spend as she saw fit, instead of spending every waking hour in a steaming laundry or dim weaving room or (spirits forbid) the far _baser_ occupations available to young women without prospects. It also had the odd side effect of teaching her to read _backwards_, as Master Pei encouraged his employees to learn the entire printing process. Unmarried and childless, it was no secret he intended to pass on the business to one of his apprentices.

Jin was too nervous to notice the contents of the printing plate as she inked it, however, and so it came as an even greater shock when Master Pei removed the thin sheet and an all too familiar face greeted her eyes. Her face fell and she stepped back.

Shen. Only not Shen. His name was given as Zuko, nationality Fire Nation. (Amber eyes…) Dangerous, it said. Fugitive. Firebender. Wanted. Reward. Nothing specific- no charges or explanation- just enough information to attract attention and sway the general populace against the target, and money to tempt.

Reeling, she studied the other plates and choked back an exclamation as her eyes settled on the next one, a round boyish face bearing an unmistakable arrow tattoo. She scanned the line; Avatar, Water Tribe warrior, Waterbender, Earthbender… Head swimming she grasped the edge of the worktable, knuckles white.

"Master, what's going on?"

He regarded her solemnly, steadying her with both hands clasped to her shoulders.

"These individuals have been named dangers to the realm. And it is our duty to support the government."

Jin absorbed this with a kind of dislocation before the situation snapped into place with far too much clarity. The Dai Li had seized complete control. And they considered the Avatar (the _Avatar_!) an enemy, along with all these others. The Avatar's friends. Her eyes widened and she snatched the first poster, staring into the scarred face.

_You don't believe in him, do you_?

He had reacted so oddly to that… and yet…

Keeping her voice low, she asked. "They're all together, aren't they? All these…people."

"That seems to be the assumption, yes." He regarded her quizzically. "You recognized the Firebender." His voice was low, not to carry beyond her ears. She nodded, just barely. "You know him?" he pressed.

Master Pei knew what she did on her days off. It was something of a joke that he called the practice "adopting strays," but it was as good a description as any and she knew he didn't mean anything hurtful by it.

"Yeah," she breathed. "but not- close." Not like Jet.

"I don't think they know. And I certainly wouldn't bring it to their attention." He patted her shoulder. "Come, I think perhaps you need a breath of fresh air."

Jin discarded her stained apron and followed him numbly as he approached the Dai Li agent to explain, oh so politely and agreeably, that while his clients would of course understand the necessity of postponing other commissions to aid the authorities it was only good business practice to warn them such delays had occurred- without giving particulars, of course. Master Pei understood the need for discretion at such a delicate time. When the agent granted approval, he ducked into his private office, leaving Jin just beside the door.

Once free of the agent's observation Pei retrieved a key from his robes and unlocked the aromatic cabinet where he kept all his most valuable papers, which he never allowed even his most trusted apprentices to touch. He pulled free a sheet with an almost invisible medallion in the center, the outer edge flared like petals. Silk threads ran through the sheet and over the motif, giving it the appearance of cracked stone.

The agent scanned the brief note, snorting at the ornamental calligraphy and material. Then his gaze narrowed.

"This is some awfully fancy paper for a simple message, Printmaker."

Master Pei didn't even flinch. "Some of our clients appreciate such simple gestures. Especially those in the nobility."

The man scanned the message again, found nothing suspicious, and handed it back. Master Pei deftly folded the paper and sealed it with wax and chop, leaving the impression of a flower in bloom.

Jin accepted it silently, keeping her breath even although her heart thrummed like a humming-bee. Pei rested his hand on hers for a moment, a slight smile of encouragement hidden from the agent's gaze.

"I want you to deliver this to Lord Tenno. It's a bit of a trip, but I can only assume you won't dawdle. We have much to do still."

"Of course," she murmured, and forced herself to walk calmly to the door instead of bolting. Once outside she did bolt, running flat out for the length of the block with the message clenched in her fingers before slowing to a more reasonable walk. She had made deliveries to Lord Tenno's estate before so she knew the way.

The guards at the Upper Ring gate seemed restless but executed their duties with the same brisk efficiency as usual before letting her pass. Jet had been rather envious of her messenger's immunity, although he was perfectly capable of getting past such checkpoints other ways.

Once into the Upper Ring she let her feet guide her to the right address by memory. Something in the air reminded her of the calm before a storm, and with a start of sudden recognition Jin realized the takeover was just now coming into effect. The rest of the city didn't know yet, and it would take time before the power shift affected the uninformed.

It was both thrilling and terrifying to be aware of the truth. Thrilling, because she knew something crucial, something hugely important. Terrifying because it was so much bigger than she was and she could only watch as it happened, knowing but unable to change anything.

Jin reached the gates to the Tenno estate and drew a deep breath before entering. Lord Tenno was a known eccentric as well as a frequent customer, a well-lettered grey haired gentleman that most regarded as odd but harmless. His estate lay a ways beyond the Palace compound and boasted ornate fences covered in trailing plants, a small pond filled with brightly colored chameleon-koi and tame rabbit-antelope roaming the manicured grounds. Jin had never met the Lord personally, but his staff always seemed content with their employment, which she thought a sound indication of character.

The doorman recognized her, accepted the message and started to shut the door, then froze as his eyes caught the seal. Without a word, he beckoned her inside and locked the door behind them. He led her to a room deep within the house, furnished with cushioned chairs and low tables but no windows.

"Wait here," he instructed, and then swept away, letter in hand. Jin sank into one of the chairs. She decided the room was some kind of parlor, and the location for privacy and security. Despite the lack of natural light, the room was bright and open. Calming.

By the time the door opened Jin had relaxed considerably. She ducked her head politely as the Lord entered, opened letter in his hand. He considered her for a moment, and then sank into the chair opposite her. He had a particular _presence_, impossible to ignore yet unimposing.

"Do you know what this says?" he asked softly, laying the paper on the table between them.

"It's to let you know we can't work on your commission right now."

"Because the Dai Li have overthrown the Earth King and are seeking to consolidate power by controlling all outlets of information."

She glanced up then, too startled to remember manners as she met his gaze.

"It- how do you know that?"

He smiled. "The words are not the message you were entrusted to deliver. The paper is, and the fact that Master Pei sent _you_."

"I- I don't understand, sir. I have to get back, if I take too long-"

"The Dai Li might get suspicious," he finished. "Let me worry about that. Do you know why Master Pei chose you to bring me this message?"

She shook her head.

"He trusts you. In fact, he has spoken to me on several occasions of the potential he sees in you. Intelligence. Courage. Honesty. And compassion. I understand that you often use your free time helping newcomers. And now, when things are crumbling around you, you kept your head and remained focused on the task given you."

A brief knock sounded at the door and at the Lord's invitation a servant entered with a tray bearing a steaming teapot and two cups, which he carefully placed on the table before leaving as silently as he had arrived. Jin tried not to stare as the Lord poured tea for himself and his guest.

"You may speak freely in my company, child," he informed her gently. "Now, I've received the first half of the message," he gestured at the paper (by pre-determined agreement with Master Pei it did indeed signify political overthrow by the Dai Li), "but you, my dear, hold the rest. You may take as long as you need. I want you to remember carefully and tell me everything you've noticed. Anything that happened at the print shop today or the past few days. Anything unusual that you witnessed, even if you think it's not connected. Any information at all."

Jin wasn't sure what made her trust him, but she did. There was something comforting about the old gentleman, something that transcended the fact that he was a powerful, wealthy noble and she was the teenaged daughter of dirt-poor refugees. So she drank her tea, and told him everything.

***

Package delivered, Iroh and Kai headed toward the southern gate. Neither man mentioned the creeping sense of palpable _anticipation_ hanging over the city. It could have been nothing, and the people carried on as they always had. There was nothing specific to point to and say _something's up_, but the travelers caught the unease anyway.

As they entered the courtyard to the Weeping Demon a teenaged girl all but ran into them, her clear green eyes wide with worry. Iroh turned- she was young and obviously upset and while there obviously wasn't time for tea it would only take a moment for a comforting word- but she was hurrying on, fingers twisted in the folds of her robe as she fled.

Iroh turned back and followed Kai to the innkeeper's desk. The innkeeper took one look at the mercenary and his amber-eyed companion, reached under the counter and held out the boy's letter.

"Your friend Ghost stepped out two days ago."

Kai had mentioned the pseudonym, but it still gave the old man pause to hear it spoken so casually, mostly because he had no way to tell _why_ his nephew would use such a name. It didn't strike him as a random choice.

Kai examined the wax seal with a raised eyebrow, although he couldn't really fault the boy for being paranoid. The message itself showed further evidence of that paranoia; carefully vague as if Zuko had been worried the message might fall into the wrong hands.

After a moment, the mercenary handed the letter to Iroh.

"What do you make of this?"

Iroh smoothed the paper and read.

_Thanks for before.. Hoping I don't need to return the favor. Gone to check something. If I'm not back and you get this grab the ostrich horse and get the hell out of town. _

Iroh's eyes widened and he lowered the paper, deliberating his next words.

"My nephew is not always perceptive to subtle hints, and at times given to understatement. If something caught his attention this strongly I can only assume there is a significant, legitimate danger. We should heed his warning."

Kai could tell the decision was not an easy one. Here Iroh had missed catching up with the boy by a matter of days, and the note held no indication of his intended actions regarding the threat- whatever it was. To be so close, and then have no idea where Zuko could have gone… Leaving now, instead of hunting further, must break the old man's heart.

"Room's still paid for- no one's touched it," the innkeeper offered. He took them to the appropriate door, but when it creaked open the room was spotless and empty. Kai shifted a couple of things to check, until Iroh placed one broad hand on the mercenary's shoulder. When he looked up Iroh shook his head.

"My nephew would not leave his belongings somewhere so- insecure."

Kai considered this and turned back to the innkeeper.

"He had a mount…"

"Still in the stables. Barmy nut is starting to affect the others- can't use the stalls on either side, he gets 'em so riled up."

Help squawked loudly as Kai neared his stall, scratching his claws against the floor and thumping the wooden walls. Zuko's saddlebags lay in the hay at the back of the stall, out of reach behind the agitated ostrich horse. Kai motioned Iroh to stay out of the way and flipped the latch.

The stable fairly exploded as the bird charged free, but finally he settled enough to let Kai stroke him and sniffed at Iroh experimentally, nipping at his loose sleeves. Moving slowly, Iroh took out Zuko's sheathed dagger and held it in his open palm under Help's questing nose. After a few exploratory sniffs the animal seemed satisfied by the combined credentials of Iroh's demeanor and Zuko's scent.

"This is a mountain breed, is it not?"

Kai looked up from the back of the stall where he stooped checking the loose straw for any hidden items. "Think so. Looks more like a pack animal than a runner, to be honest, but he handled well enough for the boy."

Iroh helped settle bridle and tack, then stood tracing his fingers over the smooth grain of the dual-blade scabbard. He closed his eyes briefly and slung the strap over his shoulder as Kai tightened the saddle girth. Bags secured, he lead the ostrich horse to the courtyard.

Iroh followed a few steps behind, one hand grasping the leather strap over his shoulder and the other Zuko's blade, thumb sweeping over the ornamentation. Dao swords and a rare mount- what had his nephew been doing before Kai encountered him? And where had he gone?

***

"What kept you?" The agent demanded when Jin returned.

"Lord Tenno, he wanted to talk to me. I'm sorry. I couldn't get away any sooner."

It was an evasion but not a straight out lie, and she had an honest face. Swallowing down her fear, Jin recalled the instructions Tenno had given her.

_Remember, child, repeat these words exactly as I tell them to you._

"He said- he offered me a position, and said that I was a pure flower blooming from the mud."

Jin didn't realize until the words left her mouth that they could have a double meaning, but as the Dai Li agent leered heat rose in her face and she turned a remarkable shade of pink. The agent laughed.

"I'll bet he did."

As Jin turned away she caught Pei's approving glance and realized the innuendo was meant as a distraction for their unwanted guest. And beyond that, it seemed to be a coded message for her boss as well, although the significance eluded her.

"Do you wish to accept that offer?"

Jin was bound to Master Pei and his shop for the duration of her apprenticeship- if she wanted to leave, she'd need his permission to terminate that agreement.

"I don't know enough to decide."

"An intelligent response. You won't be running off today, at any rate. I'll not be having my apprentices stolen away so easily, young lady," Pei warned, the warmth in his eyes belying the words. "There's too much to do here. Spend your own time as you like, but you'll not waste mine."

"Of course not, Master," she replied softly, donning her apron and retreating to the ink room. Pei scowled, but Jin knew he was secretly pleased and a little knot of excitement settled in her stomach where before had been raw tension.

_A flower blooming from the mud… isn't that an old proverb or something?_

***

Toph was the first to wake, tremors rippling through the floor and then her bones. Zuko tossed fitfully near the far wall, breath harsh and fast. Within minutes Sokka jerked awake as well, squinting through the gloom in utter disorientation before placing himself.

"What-?"

He nearly jumped as Toph touched his shoulder.

"It's Zuko- something's wrong. Bad dreams."

Neither one had witnessed his collapse the day before and there was something deeply unsettling about the thought of Zuko, of all people, suffering from violent nightmares. The exile twisted against the floor and his voice rose, forming small sounds of distress more than decipherable words.

As Sokka felt his way across the floor the rest of the group woke behind him, too sleep-muddled to react as Zuko's frenzy escalated. Finally Sokka found him, reaching down in the dark to encounter flurried erratic movement.

"Zuko," he called harshly. No response. "Zuko, Zuko wake up," he shouted, grabbing the older teen's shoulders and attempting to shake him into wakefulness and restrain flailing limbs at the same time. There was no way the Water Tribe boy could have known, but it was exactly the wrong thing to do.

Zuko snapped awake with a roar and struck out, sending Sokka skidding across the cave. Acting on reflex he reached for the blades always kept within arms reach- and felt nothing but dirt. Shreds of nightmare still wrapped around his mind Zuko tried to orient himself to his present environment and failed, recent and not so recent events jumbling together with dream in a tangle of confusion and anxiety. He couldn't see and his swords were gone. There was something in the darkness, something that had grabbed him and held him down and as he rose to face the threat fire licked along his hands, illuminating the cave.

A cave completely sealed in all directions.

In a clearer state of mind, Zuko would have been able to see the rough edges of Toph's handiwork, and probably grasp the intention of such a barrier more or less instantly. But he was not in a clear state of mind and the sudden realization that he was shut in completely pushed him further from coherency, into an almost primal sense of self-preservation. He sank into a feral crouch, face contorted into a snarling mask as the flames flickered higher, igniting the fabric of his sleeves and burning them away.

Cradling a scraped arm, Sokka lurched to his feet. Kuei hunched down next to his bear, back to the far wall as his eyes widened behind skewed lenses. Katara knelt beside Aang, who was still as ghostly pale as the night before but lucid, both of them staring with identical expressions of horror. Toph was confused. She could feel Zuko's strained heartbeat and breathing but had no idea what was causing the reaction.

"Zuko!" Katara called. "Zuko. It's us. It's just us. Snap out of it!"

Freezing chill swept up her spine as he met her eyes, one flaming hand pointed like an accusation before sweeping over the entire huddled assembly. He swallowed visibly, and his lips and throat worked as he tried to formulate a thought clear enough to communicate.

_Swords. No swords. Defenseless. Where did it go? Came in. Don't remember that. Where-_

"There- was," he managed, gesturing at the walls. His hand left trails of fire in its wake.

"Open," he gasped. "Open the-" _Door? Wall? Cave?_ "OPEN IT!"

Finally understanding the root of the problem, Toph split the rock face. Zuko rushed out into the light and dove into the surrounding undergrowth. The remaining inhabitants of the cave breathed a collective sigh of relief at the narrowly averted crisis. Toph tilted her head thoughtfully.

"Not to accuse you guys of anything, but was he that messed up _before_ you left him with the crazy General?"

Katara stared out of the cave, though Zuko was lost to sight. "I'm- honestly not sure."

"He got weird yesterday," Aang wheezed, flinching. "Not like that, though. It was like he just- went away inside. I thought it was the scariest thing I'd ever seen. I didn't know what had happened or what I should do. But now I'm not sure if _this_ was worse." Merely talking seemed more effort than the boy could spare, and sweat dewed his ashen forehead.

Katara nodded, trying not to let her concern for her friend's condition show. She had to stay strong, stay calm. "I know what you mean. I'm not sure which one is worse for Zuko, but this is definitely more dangerous for everyone else. I've never seen anyone lose control like that."

Sokka thumped the air bison's side affectionately and the great beast groaned.

"At least Appa was exhausted enough to sleep through it. He doesn't like being sealed up in caves either, and I'd hate the think how the big guy would react to being stuck in a cave _with fire_."

"Good point," Toph agreed.

Katara gently disengaged herself from Aang's side and rose. "I'm going to go see if I can find a stream- we all need food and water and I should work on Aang as soon as possible."

"Follow the trail Zuko made through the brush," Toph suggested. "He nearly fell in. I'd be _real_ careful approaching him, though. He might need a while to calm down still."

"I'll keep that in mind," Katara reassured her, and set off. Things had been pretty hectic yesterday, all things considered, but Zuko had always seemed more open around her than the others. It was worth a shot, anyway.

The stream really wasn't that hard to find, and Katara made no attempt to disguise her arrival, stopping several yards from the Firebender kneeling along the bank. Zuko didn't look up, continuing to scoop water from one hand onto his opposite arm. For a moment she thought Zuko had burned himself along with his sleeves before remembering the fight with Azula. The wound was from yesterday, not a sign his control had slipped _that_ drastically.

"Zuko?"

He still didn't look up but he did stop, placing both hands flat against the ground on either side of his knees.

"Zuko… we didn't mean… we didn't know you'd freak out like that. Toph was just trying to keep everyone safe while we were asleep."

Still nothing. Katara hoped he was listening and ignoring her and not still out of it. She stepped forward and wet her lips nervously.

"Zuko," she tried again.

"Stay away from me."

She froze. At least he was acknowledging her now, but her face fell as she placed the tone. So much had happened since Pakku's ship, _on_ the ship. Surely he wouldn't just- _revert_, would he? He was different now. He'd helped them. He'd saved Aang…

They had no idea what was wrong with him. She swallowed.

"Fine. I was only trying to be polite. I just needed to get water from the stream."

"Nobody's stopping you."

She sat down on the bank, uncomfortably aware that she didn't have anything to carry water _in_. It would get really old having to Bend the water uphill, or even freeze it into ice blocks to carry. And then what, Bend it into everyone's mouths like she had in the desert? She glanced over.

"Do want me to fix that?" she asked softly, reaching out one hand to pull water from the stream. "It's the least I can do for you helping us."

"Don't make so much of it. Besides, I'm sure you have a more pressing claim on your healing skills. I know how much effort it takes- why waste that on me?"

His voice was almost inflectionless but the words stung nonetheless. Katara shut her eyes against the well of tears and let her hand drop. Swallowing the lump in her throat she pressed on. Aang could wait just a little bit longer- he wasn't in mortal danger and she knew he'd understand. He'd probably be more upset if she _didn't_ try.

"What were you looking for, when Sokka woke you up? You reached for something."

"Swords. They're still in the city. Everything is. Got nothing again." He gave a short bark of laughter.

"We could help with that." Katara wasn't sure how, but she knew without a doubt that regardless of his actions the previous day Zuko had absolutely no intention of becoming a permanent addition to the group- and never had.

"I don't need your help."

"Zuko, you just said yourself you left everything in the city. That you have nothing."

"I managed with _less_," he growled.

Katara refused to let this throw her, although a part of her couldn't help wondering, and then shying away from possible answers.

"Okay, maybe you don't need us, but we need you. Aang's hurt and I don't know how long it'll take him to recover. And the Earth King has- minimal experience outside the Palace and no fighting skills to speak of. "

Zuko sighed and finally turned to look at her. His eyes were calm, with no hint of the frantic desperation that had scared her so much in the cave. Calm but not open.

"You don't take hints, do you? How about this: no. Is that clear enough for you?" He stood abruptly and walked away.

"Zuko, wait-"

"Quit wasting time and go fix your boyfriend already."

Katara watched him leave, disheartened. She knew he was right- Aang did need her help. And in all likelihood Zuko wouldn't get too far. Toph would probably be able to locate him again without too much trouble. Sighing, Katara rose to her feet and pulled a long strand of water from the current into a floating puddle between her hands and shifted it absentmindedly as she walked up the hill.

By the time she returned Toph had raised a low kind of platform where Aang lay on his stomach to keep pressure off the wound. Kuei had sacrificed his cape for a makeshift pillow. A smile rose on Aang's face as Katara entered and then fell again as he noticed her expression. Toph lifted her head.

"Let me guess, no dice?"

"I don't understand. He just won't listen."

Sokka snorted. "Big surprise there, little sister. We don't need him anyway." He examined the long scrape on his arm and picked at the edges.

Katara knelt down and spread the water over Aang's back. He sighed under her touch, closing his eyes. Katara shot her brother a sharp look before shifting her attention back to Healing.

"I don't suppose it occurred to you that we could use all the help we can get right now?"

Kuei leaned over and lightly touched Toph's shoulder.

"I feel I'm missing something here. It appears their argument concerns a bit more than whether the Firebender will consider returning."

Toph patted his hand. "Not bad, your Majesty. Katara and Sokka have been arguing about Zuko since before I met them. Apparently they've been arguing since he was captured at the North Pole."

"Captured by who?"

"The Water Tribe, of course. Apparently he took advantage of the fact that Aang's totally defenseless when he's off communing with nature or whatever, knocked out Katara and tried to take Aang back to his father."

"I'm afraid I don't follow. I thought Zuko had been banished? And Katara seems to support having him with us."

"Yup. The Fire Lord said Zuko could come back if he brought the Avatar as a present. Or something. And Katara thinks Zuko will help our side win because the dead princess said something cryptic when she turned into the moon."

"If Zuko was captured in the North Pole, how did he end up in my country?"

"They brought him here. That was Sokka's idea, apparently. He thinks Zuko is a no-good selfish jerk, but agreed that if they did end up needing him it would be better to keep him somewhere handy. So they gave him to one of your Generals."

"One of _my_-"

"He got away, obviously."

"Obviously," Kuei echoed, pressing fingers against his forehead and tipping back the heavy hat. "But he was helping the Avatar yesterday. You said he warned you about the Princess."

"He was and he did."

Kuei considered this. He had spent most of his life sheltered from the world and thought he had adapted rather well to the truth, all things considered. He understood power play and intrigue on an intellectual level; history was filled with such lessons, and he was a well-educated man. Long Feng had overlooked the monarch's reading material. So despite his lack of direct experience, the young King recognized the situation once the relevant information was presented. That call had been confirmed when the Council apologized for the duplicity, offered their reasons, and pledged their loyalty to him alone.

It had been a shocking blow to discover more deception so soon after. He still wasn't sure how to feel about it all, but Sokka and Toph's hurried explanation had been verified not only by the girls' reaction to the interruption but also the bands of Dai Li attempting to detain them as they raced through the Palace.

As excited as he'd been at the prospect of meeting more of the Avatar's adventurer friends, he was somewhat relieved that the supposed leader of the Kyoshi Warriors was no such thing. He'd bought the act but couldn't shake the sense that something about her seemed off, though he had written it away as his own inexperience dealing with those accustomed to a life centered on fighting and violence…

The other two had seemed different, and somehow he didn't think Ty Lee had faked her interest in teaching Bosco circus tricks any more than Mai had faked kissing Zuko during the getaway. Zuko, who had seemed as reasonable a person as any of the others and then shown a completely different side the very next day- a change Toph had suggested might have something to do with an imprisonment by Kuei's own people at the Avatar's request…

"If you don't mind," he said faintly, "I would appreciate a clearer explanation."

***

Zuko was down right _relieved_ Katara didn't follow him. He just couldn't deal with her, or her questions, right now. Not on top of everything else. Sleep had solidified the previous day's events into a tangled mess he couldn't _begin _to process. He couldn't separate the individual components, couldn't risk losing himself in either yawning void or jagged chaos to sort things out. Better to leave it alone, for now. No sense poking at an open wound.

Instinct prompted him to avoid contact, seek defensible ground until he recovered. It was a base impulse, something primal and at complete odds with the more sensible response of sticking together until a secure location was reached.

He did recover enough coherency to function, if somewhat rigidly. He had to stay focused, in control. Just shut the rest away and keep moving. As long as he kept equilibrium he could push the worst far enough down to cope. He sighed, trying not to think too hard about the fact that he was, once again, lost in the middle of nowhere with nothing to his name but the clothes on his back. He was even missing his sleeves again.

_At least I have shoes this time. That's something._

Crossing the stream at a shallow point (he could dry himself easily enough but he preferred not to get soaked in the first place) he pulled himself onto the opposite bank and then scrabbled for purchase as it crumbled. Zuko slid back toward the water holding a handful of plant. A plant he was sure he'd never seen before but recognized anyway.

Disbelief stamped across his face he stared at it, then along the bank at similar clumps trailing their fat roots in the water from the lip of the overhang, and finally back across the stream. He hesitated, then scooted back down the bank, grabbed several more specimens and crossed the stream again to retrace his steps.

***

As might be expected, explaining the situation from the beginning took a while. Kuei insisted on clarification as they went, which tended to jumble events out of order. And then they would have to try and find where they had left off, and pick up the thread, and repeat things. It was impossible to tell how the young monarch felt about any of it, although on the whole he seemed split between admitting utter confusion and impassively reserving judgment.

Sokka was rather annoyed by that reservation, actually. Kuei was _Earth Kingdom_- sure he had been sheltered from the war but he shouldn't he realize Zuko was a threat at worst and a loose cannon at best? He was more annoyed when Toph kept trying to butt in. She had only met the jerk yesterday, what did she know about anything?

"Guys…"

"Not now, Toph. It's important that His Majesty understands just what we're dealing with, here."

"What we're dealing with, brother, is bigger than your personal dislikes. He's a part of this and has been from the start, even if we didn't realize it then."

Aang let his eyes close. The barest movement tugged at the wound, and although the healing session had helped there was still a long way to go before he was better. Lifting his head wasn't worth the strain, and apparently there was nothing new to the argument. If he could just shut the pain away and get some sleep...

"Guys? You might want to…"

"As I was saying, this is bigger than any one person…"

"Of course it is. Doesn't make you right."

"Sokka, you weren't there in the catacomb, okay? You didn't see-"

"Well you weren't there before that. He practically admitted he only warned us to save his own ass."

"Guys," Toph tried again, slightly louder. Still no effect.

"But if he came at all, doesn't that mean Katara was right, that her plan worked?"

"What, being nice so he'd change sides and help us take down his father?"

"GUYS!" This time she used Earthbending as well as volume for emphasis and finally caught everyone's attention.

"_What_, Toph?"

Toph set her mouth in a line and pointed.

Zuko stood just outside the entrance with an unreadable expression on his face and a handful of plants brushing his leg, muddy from the knees down.

Katara felt heat rising in her face.

"Oh. Um, you came back."

"Don't change the subject on my account. By all means, continue."

Even Toph flinched.

Aang tried to prop himself up on an elbow, face uneasy. Sokka folded his arms. Katara held out one hand in a placating gesture and then stopped. "Zuko," she faltered but he was in no mood to listen.

"I asked you. Over and over and over, every day for three weeks, _what you wanted from me_. You said nothing. That you wanted _nothing_. I had almost managed to convince myself you were on the level and my suspicions were sheer paranoia, but they weren't, were they?" Rather than the familiar snarl, his face went tight and nearly emotionless. "Don't answer. Just- don't bother. It doesn't matter now, anyway."

"What was I supposed to do, Zuko? We were under orders from the Spirit World."

"No,_ I_ was under orders. Orders that I am _paying_ for failing to carry out. Unless you were lying to his Majesty just now, _you_ were serving your own ends. "Hey, I know what we can do- let's use Zuko!" Oh, and while we're at it? I'd like to take a moment of your precious time to point out that I _did_ help you, _yesterday_. Looks like I fulfilled your little prophecy. Nice knowing you, have fun, _goodbye_."

"Zuko, wait," Katara called.

"Why the hell should I?"

He turned to leave, muttering under his breath about damn manipulative brats, fate keeping a personal vendetta against him and having to start all over without a clue where Uncle could be. It sounded like angry, unintelligible gibberish to everyone but Toph.

"We can help you find your uncle."

He froze for a full three seconds before responding, still facing away.

"What?"

"I'm guessing it slipped Aang's mind to mention it yesterday, what with everything else going on, but we ran into Iroh a while back. He's looking for you. And you're looking for him. He said he felt our paths would cross again. Besides, if you go off on your own now you'll just end up bumping into us later anyway."

He did turn at that, regarding the blind girl evenly and keeping his voice tightly controlled. "How do you figure?"

"Divine interference, of course. Unless you think the Spirits will just leave off messing with you. Unlikely, in my opinion. For whatever reason, they've decided you're their man."

Zuko's face was guarded, body rigid. Tension simmered like heat distortion over rock but the offer had been so unexpected and so inescapably relevant it swept most of the anger aside, at least for now. Toph grinned and propped one foot on top of the opposite ankle- she had his attention, and she wasn't about to lose it.

"The way I see it, you need to get out of the area just as badly as we do. Opposing the Fire Lord's plans for dominion can't have improved family relations, and it's a good bet Iroh will either be drawn to the secret Resistance outpost or someone there will have information you can use. So, as long as we're going the same direction anyway, you might as well travel with us. Whadda ya say?"

"I'll think about it."

"I can work with that. What have you got in your hand, anyway? It's shedding little clods of dirt."

He looked down at the drooping stalks and muddy roots, as if he'd forgotten what led him back to the cave in the first place. "Oh. I found Bitterroot growing down by the stream." He shrugged. "It wasn't really that far out of my way to bring it by."

Sokka peered at the plants skeptically, resisting the urge to poke as curiosity won out over wariness. "Bitterroot, huh? Doesn't sound too appetizing."

"You would try to eat it, wouldn't you? I'm tempted to let you try, but it might kill you."

Sokka looked up sharply. "Why would you bring us poisonous plants?"

"It's medicine. I- saw a picture in a book once. It's supposed to numb pain."

The intended beneficiary went without saying, and even Toph was at a loss for an appropriate response. Finally Katara stepped forward and held out her hand. She was the healer, after all. Zuko dropped the plants into her waiting palm and pulled away instantly, refusing to move beyond the threshold.

"As long as I already brought them."

"Of course."

"I know about burns."

Katara tore her gaze away from his eyes and the ruin of his face. When he had pushed away her concern down at the stream she'd feared she'd lost the tenuous link of trust wrought on Pakku's ship, but now she knew that was wrong. _This_- this was Zuko not trusting her. Discovering the truth had shattered any credibility she had.

_He had to find out eventually. What did you think would happen_?

"Thank you," she offered.

Aang gave a weak smile and whispered thanks as well before settling his head on his arm. Katara closed her hand around the Bitterroot. Zuko- _Zuko_- had found medicine for Aang. Not out of goodwill or even obligation- just because he recognized it and knew there was a need. And he would stick around, not because he trusted them or agreed with them or liked them- just because it was practical. And that motive stung far deeper than she thought possible.

_Dammit, I didn't do anything wrong! _

But she couldn't find a voice to explain or the words to make him understand and he just stood there, closed off, as if daring her to try and bridge the gulf.

Yeah, that particular plot point has just been waiting to bite Katara in the butt. More fallout next chapter! You didn't think this would get _easier,_ did you?


	26. Chapter 25

25

Empty. The victory was empty. Completely hollow. Azula ran the brush through her hair for one final stroke and laid it down on the bureau. Her reflection stared back, looking much younger without the usual careful paint and perfectly swept topknot. The curved bow of her lips pouted, and she laid her hands carefully flat along the edge.

She had won the city, but it brought her little satisfaction. It rankled even further to realize that had her plan succeeded perfectly, she would still have had only a hollow shell to claim as her prize. Fagh. She was a commander, not an administrator. She had no patience for the tedious minutiae of municipal- tedium. Casting her eyes once more over the crisp scroll to her right, she let her lip curl. The Army would not be able to assume complete control for nearly a week, and in the meantime she had to baby-sit the Dai Li as she waited for General Xiu to relieve her. Relieve- how appropriate that word seemed now.

She remembered how once, long ago, Zuko had begged and pleaded with their mother to go see an "exciting" play instead of some long romantic sob story. It was one of the few things she could _ever_ support Zuzu for even attempting, but her own enthusiasm had soured as the villain of the piece dissolved into self-pity. And now, for whatever reason, some small teasing part of her brain mocked her with that other's petulant whining.

_Must I do everything myself?!_

A pathetic sentiment if there ever was one.

She shook her head, rolled her eyes and sighed. Self-reflection was all well and good- one should always strive to improve- but on occasion it bordered on sulking.

She turned her thoughts toward other matters. It wasn't as if she didn't have plenty to concern herself with. Azula's lips quirked in a wry smile as she heard the mental echo of Mai's monotone voice barely tinged with disappointment. Mongrel scarecrow indeed. About damn time Mai grew out of that pathetic crush, anyway. It was embarrassing- the only flaw in her otherwise flawless armor. A useful defect, to be sure, and one Azula had kept track of and turned to her benefit more than once, but she did value perfection and Mai with such a blatant vulnerability seemed- unfinished.

And then there was the problem of Zuko himself.

That leering general had kept him in a lead-lined cage. Of course Azula had used that to her advantage- she wasn't prideful enough to reject the opportunity simply because the weakness was not of her own devising- but she couldn't deny that something about the concept bothered her, and the reason why that might be so itched under her skin.

Her brother had always been…lesser. In another family, in a different generation even, Azula knew he would have been perfectly adequate. Even in the strongest clan line, there must always be one lowest, and that was he. The weak one, the inferior member- of the strongest family in the world. All her brother's many faults aside, she could not ignore the fact that the dirt-mucking General had attempted to break Fire Nation elite. Shameful failure though he might be, her brother was royalty, and Fong had _dared_ to challenge that supremacy.

It was a brilliant tactic, she had to admit. "Fair" was not a concept Azula had much use for, but "objective judgment" was. Objectivity was not enough. It galled her that some upstart Earthbender could inflict such damage. She had much greater concerns during the battle. When exactly had the Water chit gotten so fast anyway? And how the _hell_ did she pull herself together well enough to constitute a credible threat? Yet she had been vaguely shocked by her brother's utter collapse. Tears she expected. Tears, and screaming, and general uselessness- she remembered that well enough. But the utter unresponsiveness, especially following that brittle, too-bright laughter when he gave himself away…

A small part of her wondered if she had pushed just the tiniest bit too hard, had somehow misjudged the situation- but that was impossible. It meant Zuko could hide what he felt and his vulnerability had always been painfully transparent, especially to her. Still, some part of her had wondered if he had snapped irreparably in that moment, and worried at the implication of error on her part. Mistakes were not to be tolerated.

He'd come out of it, whatever it was. Perhaps she should make inquiries among the Dai Li. They had a reputation for doing nasty things to people's minds and had no doubt seen many reactions to those methods. It would keep them occupied at any rate, until she could get on with things and leave the boring details to those inferiors more suited to such mundane activities. The Avatar would be in no shape to fight for some time, and she didn't want to lose that advantage.

Azula stood from her cushioned chair, sweeping the room with hard gold eyes as she padded to her conquered bed, long fingernails sliding across the silk cover. She sank into the cushions, and her eyes closed, though her mind did not still for some time. Perhaps it was some atrophied sense of sibling affection from a time long past, or far more likely a sense of possessiveness that had mutated from that withered sensibility, but she could not forgive the General's slight. He had escaped with the others- for now- but that didn't matter in the least.

Fong would pay for his impertinence.

Of course, so would Zuko. Her lips quirked in satisfaction as she sank into the embrace of well deserved slumber.

***

Toph serving as a diplomat was not an idea Katara would have come up with on her own, but to her immense shock the little boulder-thrower actually seemed to be holding the group together. It was Toph who had discovered how to keep Zuko with them, and Toph who had broken the awkwardness by grumbling loudly that if everyone was done throwing fits then Sokka ought to go hunt down something big and tasty because she was _starving_.

Sokka's own stomach had rumbled in response, and everyone had been reminded rather acutely just how long it had been since anyone had eaten. While Sokka set off into the surrounding forest Katara managed to retain her composure well enough to ask how exactly the herb was used. Zuko answered without a hint of rancor, and that _lack_ of hostility made something in her twist unpleasantly. It wasn't that he was ignoring her- obviously you couldn't ignore someone and simultaneously converse with them- but he acted like there wasn't anything _there_ to ignore when there obviously was, and-

Gods, she was hungry. And tired. And irritated. And nursing a splitting headache. Which might be the reason she snapped that if they had to _boil_ the damn plant and _mash it into paste_ in order for it to have any use _whatsoever_, Zuko might as well have not _bothered_, because they didn't have any cooking pots now did they?

He had seemed almost bemused by her reaction, and simply pointed toward Toph. Katara had turned bright red in embarrassment when she caught on. Of course a _Master Earthbender _could make something adequately pot-shaped to cook in. Why hadn't she thought of that?

She started to order- no, request- that Toph make something to bring water back to the cave, and then realized it was probably a better idea to take Aang down to the stream. Except she was exhausted, and Toph probably was too, and Aang could barely move much less walk down the hill, and Sokka had gone hunting… Fortunately she didn't mention any of this out loud beyond the "We should get Aang to the water" part and saved herself further embarrassment when Toph promptly started to shift the raised earthen "bed" down the hill. Why was everybody conspiring to make her look like an idiot today? Gods!

Aang sighed in relief as the water closed over his weary body, and he smiled weakly. Katara smiled back (she had to be strong for him, had to hold it together) but as soon as she looked away the expression fell. _She_ was the one who had grown up in the harshest environment in the world; _she_ was the one who took care of everybody, held them together. Toph was a spoiled runaway rich girl and Zuko was a blasted Prince, so why were they the ones able to deal with this while she was falling to pieces?

If the objects of her scrutiny noticed the attention they gave no sign of it and simply bent to their work. Toph might have mastered a number of things, but making cook-pots was not one of them and the result was comically lopsided. Once filled Zuko set to work heating the contents. Kuei watched the mismatched duo with undisguised fascination.

For his part, Aang seemed perfectly content to simply rest in the cool stream surrounded by Katara's arms, eyes closed to the glare of sunlight on water and one hand on her arm. She wanted to take the pain away, she wanted to so badly, but until more of her own strength returned she couldn't do more than she already had.

"You wanna give us a hand here?" Toph called, and Katara realized she had been zoned out and shook herself before settling Aang against the bank. The Bitterroot had boiled down to a bloated white mess and an oily film slicked the surface of the water. It didn't smell particularly inviting either. She poked at it with her finger and was rewarded by the sting of heat and then tingling numbness that spread all the way to her first knuckle.

"We might have a problem," she murmured to herself, and then noticed the other two had heard and waited expectantly for elaboration. "I won't be able to use my hands to help Aang if this numbs me, too."

"Deal with it later, the water needs to be drained off," Zuko responded, and she bristled.

"At least we know it works, right?" Toph added, and Katara had to nod. That _was_ a relief.

In the end she tore the edge from her skirt and used that to apply the slimy goo around the ragged burn. Aang practically melted under her hands, and the dopy grin he turned to her was suffused with such profound relief she couldn't help feeling her usual wellspring of hope start refilling itself. They may be down, but they were far from out, and things were starting to look up.

The next few hours were spent with Zuko gathering as many of the plants as he could find as Toph and Kuei attempted making bottles to contain the… miraculous slime. The Earth King had never shown any inclination toward bending, but the stream bank held clay and it was a pleasant surprise to all involved that the pampered, scholarly man was experienced with ceramics. Sculpture, after all, was a gentlemanly pursuit even if pottery wasn't.

By the time Sokka returned they had a reasonable supply of Bitterroot paste in stone and bisque-fired containers. There was an awkward moment when Sokka remembered the squirrel-foxes he'd caught counted as meat and were therefore off the menu for Aang, but the exhausted Airbender slept through it all.

They spent three days camped by the stream. It took that long to even think of trying to move on. The unexpected wealth of painkiller, while undeniably beneficial did nothing for Aang's exhaustion or help to heal the burn. Katara had to recover enough of her _own_ strength back to even attempt helping Aang recover enough of _his_ to risk being moved more than a few yards.

Her optimism had dimmed a bit during that time. Sure, Aang was healing, and they had bottles of medicine, and food, and Sokka had managed to rig some kind of harness thing with braided cord to hold Aang on Appa's back, and Kuei had even made her a flat sort of bottle to replace her waterskin, but Zuko…

Zuko.

Zuko was a problem. She couldn't figure him out. It wasn't that he insisted on pretending nothing was wrong- well, it wasn't just that. She had tried apologizing, but he simply brushed her off. He was behaving too eerily sensibly for the situation, and it left her more than a bit unsettled.

Apparently, she wasn't covering that as well as she might have.

For the most part, though, the group skirted any possibly volatile issues rather than confronting them, on the chance it might prompt Zuko to leave. Toph had already used her one and only (if very effective) trump, and even Sokka had to admit that it was preferable to have Zuko in the immediate vicinity.

One, because an extra pair of hands, no matter whose, really helped in the current predicament. Two because he seemed to know random but useful information. And three because it was really in their best interests to keep an eye on him. While the unspoken agreement not to broach the subject held, it was impossible to ignore the fact that Zuko wasn't well. At least if Zuko was with them, they might be able to do something if he flipped out again, either violently as he had that first morning in the cave, or retreating from the world at large as he had in the catacombs.

When Katara finally decided to return Zuko's seeming disinterest, Toph neglected to tell her it made Zuko's heart rate calm considerably. Such an announcement would have the opposite effect on her friend's composure, in all likelihood, and escalated the situation. Katara couldn't remain frosty and aloof for long, however, and soon tried to "reach out" again, to Zuko's apparent annoyance.

While conscious of Zuko's emotional state, Toph was no mind reader, and no one in the party seemed to realize the Firebender's distance stemmed not from anger, but desperation. He didn't have energy to spare on any strong emotion, focused simply on holding himself together. He couldn't afford to fall apart again.

Katara's attitude was not helping. She swung from frigid resentment to overbearing friendliness and Zuko couldn't keep up with the alternating extremes, much less deal with them. Katara, he had decided, did not know when to leave well enough alone. She poked and prodded, fumbling for a reaction, prying inquisitive fingers into healing wounds and tearing them open again. He didn't need her help with that- holding himself together already felt like grasping at shards of glass to avoid falling into the abyss.

Katara's latest attempt prompted something close to a normal reaction, or at least as normal as he got these days.

"Look," he sighed, "It's not like I don't understand what you were trying to do, or why. I would have the same thing in your place. So stop trying to say you're sorry, because you aren't, and I don't really care. Quite frankly, trying to apologize all the time, when you aren't acting like an ice-harpy bothers me more than you acting like you have a brain and trying to use an opportunity to your benefit. Just leave off."

Needless to say, if this was intended to calm down or mollify Katara in any way, it failed spectacularly.

"You're acting unusually dense about all this", Toph had remarked out of nowhere on the morning of the fourth day since they lost the capitol. They had finally made progress towards the rendezvous, but it was slow going, which hardly helped anyone's nerves.

"Excuse me?"

The blind prodigy tore a chunk of jerky in half (Sokka had taken advantage of the delay and built up a store of provisions for traveling) and munched for a while, offering glimpses of the process as she talked and ate simultaneously.

"You keep acting like it's some terrible thing that you failed to manipulate him into trusting you."

"I did not _manipulate_, Toph. I was just trying to- gently persuade him to change his mind."

Toph shrugged. "Whatever. My point is, wouldn't it be worse if you actually _had_ gained his trust, dishonestly, and then broken it? I mean, this way there's just a stinking pile of disappointment, instead of genuine betrayal." She took another bite. "Besides, at least this way the air's been cleared."

"What exactly does that mean?!"

"Exactly what it sounds like, Princess. Everybody knows where everybody else stands. There's no confusion about intentions or whatever. Zuko is trying to find his Uncle and keep his skin intact. Sokka wants to get everybody to the rendezvous so we can start hitting back already, Aang wants somewhere he can crash until he feels up to taking another stab at this whole "saving the world" gig, Kuei is trying to figure out this novel concept called "life outside the ivory tower" and you're- well, you're sulking things didn't turn out like you thought they would."

Katara folded her arms over her chest and glared. Toph couldn't see her expression, of course, but she'd be sure to feel the displeasure radiating from the irate Waterbender. Toph's word stung more than she wanted to admit. "And what about you, oh great Earthbending Champion?"

"Me? I'm here for the ride, Sweetcheeks. Never claimed otherwise." She grinned wide, exposing an expanse of perfect ivory and a tiny chunk of jerky wedged right in front. Katara hissed in frustration and turned away.

Several yards away, Zuko sank to the ground and folded his knees into a lotus position, eyes closed. If he realized the observation, it did not show. Katara ground her teeth and went to find her brother.

***

In the grand scheme of things, Mai decided, her offenses against the Earth Kingdom paled in comparison to many of her countrymen, but you wouldn't know it from the reactions to her target practice. It wasn't like she was destroying priceless artifacts or desecrating the throne room. So much fuss over a few notches in a wardrobe. A truly hideous piece of furniture, truth be told. She rolled her eyes at the servant's theatrics, tugged her blade free (ignoring the shriek of wood as it split further) and set off to find another diversion to offset her boredom.

She didn't have to look far. Azula was not coping well with enforced idleness, although it took someone familiar with the Princesses' usual mood and behavior to notice, and it hadn't surprised Mai in the least when frustration shaded to faint paranoia. Not that she had anything better to do than guard Azula's quarters from possible sabotage. Personally, Mai thought Azula ought to worry more about the Dai Li than the Palace staff, but whatever. It wasn't her place to tell Azula what to do.

At least with Azula preoccupied Mai didn't have to worry quite so much about slipping up. There was enough on her mind without having to worry that some tiny detail would give her away. Now if only she could find something to occupy her time until they could finally _leave_.

She had long ago discovered that the inherent danger in not having anything to do was that eventually you started thinking, and quite frankly Mai's thoughts were rarely happy. She knew quite well what the world was like, and while she appreciated the stark beauty of honesty over florid artifice all too often the world around her simply felt endlessly bleak. It really didn't do to dwell on such matters, but when she had nothing to distract her from them there wasn't much in the way of alternatives. She sighed.

Ty Lee glanced up from the other side of the room. When Mai had entered she had been practicing handstands, and had now progressed to tying herself in knots. Sometimes, Mai knew, people wondered what, besides Azula, kept the two girls friends. Besides the comfort of long familiarity and shared experience Ty did manage to make her life interesting in ways few mortals managed.

"What on earth are you doing?"

"Human pretzel"

Mai was intrigued despite herself. "What on earth is a pretzel?"

"Oh, these twisty snack things they sell at the circus. They're covered with course salt so the patrons get thirsty and buy drinks, too."

"I never realized the circus was so… devious."

Ty Lee grinned. Despite her innocent face and carefree attitude she was hardly as naïve, or ignorant, as appearance suggested. The acrobat unfolded herself and skipped across the room to settle at, or rather nearly on, Mai's feet.

"You aren't really thinking about the entertainment industry, though, are you?"

Mai shrugged. Ty Lee's laughing eyes turned sober, and she pulled herself up to a proper sitting position. Mai stiffened. Ty Lee didn't usually care too much about making eye contact while conversing, or remembering all the proper mannerisms to prove she was paying attention.

"Mai," she started, her usually exuberant voice soft, "I know something's wrong.

You can tell me, really. I swear I'll keep it a secret."

"Why would you think I need you to keep secrets for me?"

Ty Lee smiled sadly. "I noticed you seemed a little weird since we ran into the fan girls. What you said, it just seemed- not like your usual self."

"Look who's talking, Miss I-feel-threatened by weird girls in Kabuki makeup."

"It's not as weird for me to say something stupid and –what's the word?- vacuous, remember? You're supposed to not care. What's going on?"

Mai growled. She knew Ty Lee was far smarter than most people assumed (Azula would hardly consider it worthwhile to cultivate her companionship otherwise) but it still caught her off guard when the seemingly self-centered bubble-brain turned serious and insightful. She took a moment to study her companion.

She'd known Ty Lee for nearly ten years, and it suddenly chilled her to realize she wasn't sure she actually, really, absolutely for certain _knew_ her longtime friend. Azula had a terrifying ability to read people, but Ty had her own way of seeing things that on occasion surpassed the Princess's technique. Mai had never paid much attention to the younger girl's explanation of energy currents and auras, it all seemed like wishy-washy superstition, but whatever the explanation she couldn't refute the results.

Then again, if she couldn't trust Ty Lee, who could she trust? And if Ty had noticed something was off, maybe Azula would too, once her attention had shifted from creepy Dai Li mind-bending practices.

"Mai… is it about Zuko? It is, isn't it?" Ty patted her hand softly. "You wanna talk about it? Promise I won't judge."

She'd never get a better chance. Azula was preoccupied, and her thoughts were beginning to eat her alive, awake and asleep.

"You remember how Azula gave me that stupid chit's diary?"

"The one you told Azula held no significant information?"

"Yeah. Thing is? I lied."

So she took a deep breath and started talking. It got easier as she went, surprisingly enough. It felt so good just to be able to voice her frustrations and fears, the little doubts and suspicions that had been building for so long. To release the dull rage aching inside.

She listed all the things she had realized long ago to be lies, all the contradictions that simply didn't make sense when you actually held them up to examination without the fear that merely _daring to think_ constituted a crime. She confessed wanting to talk with Katara, wanting to leave with Zuko even if he was helping the Avatar, even knowing the threat such a course would level against her family, if it would _get her out_. She admitted to letting them go, everything that had happened in the corridor…

When she finished, Ty Lee was silent for a while, thoughtful.

"Wow," she said at last. "You've been holding on to this by yourself way too long."

"You aren't mad at me?"

"For what? You can't always help the way you feel about things. And you make some really good points. It's- kind of scary actually. And no, I'm not gonna ask why you didn't share this all sooner."

"Besides the fact it's treason?"

Ty Lee gave her best _you're a dummy_ look. "I ran away to join the circus, remember?" _You think I don't understand wanting to be free of the control? _

"I remember. Sometimes I think I should have joined you."

"We'd have made a great team!"

Mai smiled faintly at the mental image of Ty Lee, in a fluffy skirt, balanced on a tight rope, with various objects teetering in a stack on her head as Mai hit the targets one by one with her blades.

"Azula still would have found us."

They were quiet for a while.

"She's changed," Ty Lee said finally. "I don't think she'd understand, even if we tried to explain this- hypo whatsis."

"Hypothetically? No, she wouldn't."

"I guess we don't tell her then."

It sounded like such an obvious, simple response it was almost possible to ignore the magnitude of what they were considering.

"So you kissed Zuko, huh?"

Mai blushed. They weren't going to voice the implicit accord, she knew, but the promise was there, tangible, between them. _I've got your back_. There wasn't any need for further discussion on that score. So now Ty Lee was changing the subject to something totally typical. Mai mumbled something even she couldn't understand.

"Oh, come on, Mai! Give me juicy details here. You kissed Zuko! You've been wanting to do that since we were little. You can't hold out on me now. Was he good?"

"Terrible, if you have to know." Mai blushed even harder at the admission.

"EEEEEEeeeeeh!" Ty Lee squealed, throwing her arms around Mai and latching tight. "That's SO _great_!"

"It is?"

"_Ye_ah. It means he hasn't had any practice, Mai. He _waited for you_."

Personally, she wasn't so sure Zuko simply hadn't been given the opportunity to choose whether or not to _get_ any practice, but Ty Lee was so happy about it she didn't have the heart to burst that bubble. It- did- make her a little warm inside to wonder if her friend was right.

She had a brief, fleeting fancy that it ought to be the three of them, and Azula teasing even harder, threatening Mai to be good to her brother _or else_, but that was a dream meant for a different world. One where Azula wasn't- whatever it was she had become. She brushed the thought away. There were some things she could act on, and others beyond her power to influence. Azula had chosen her path, just as Mai and Ty Lee were now choosing theirs. If the Princess wanted to come back to them, fine. In the meantime, Mai had Ty Lee and Ty Lee had Mai and they were going to be all right.

And Azula never had to know.

***

When Sokka suggested they keep to the ground rather than take to the skies, there was hardly any argument. They could fly if they had to, but it would be disastrous to unwittingly betray the location of their secret base. Appa was too noticeable, the risk too great.

Several days of using the Bitterroot had revealed not all of Aang's injury lay on the surface. In addition to the exterior burn, the underlying tissue had sustained damage from Azula's attack. The development was acknowledged without much reaction- no one had much energy to spare for that- but it was one more piece of bad news on top of all the rest, and the strain was beginning to show on the entire group. Katara worked on the injury as often as she had the energy to spare, to little discernable effect. Finally she agreed it was best to move on and cover as much distance as possible and track down a fully qualified healer.

Exhausted and drained, they plodded onward. Toph had given up secretly testing Kuei for latent Earthbending ability, although she maintained suspicions regarding his extraordinary touch with clay. The riddle would keep- she was too tired to investigate further.

Suddenly Momo shrieked and launched himself from Katara's hold. The touch-addicted lemur had not reacted well to Aang's convalescence, switching from despondence at his boy's condition to demanding narcissism when Aang couldn't play their usual games or pet him, or any of the usual affections Aang usually provided. This particular display barely prompted a reaction from anyone, and probably would have been ignored completely, had the incident not shaken Toph from her stupor long enough to take a quick survey of the surrounding area.

"Stupid animal," Sokka groused. He knew it would hurt Aang terribly, and Katara would yell at him forever, and the fuzzy troublemaker had grown on him since that day so long ago in the temple, but damn if he didn't want to chase down the screeching nuisance with his boomerang sometimes. Like now.

"Hold it, Meatboy," Toph snapped, her head tilted slightly and turned vaguely north.

Sokka immediately snapped to attention. "What is it?"

"I'm not sure yet. I can't believe I didn't feel anything sooner- must be losing my touch from the sleep deprivation- but I think we've got company headed this way."

"Trouble?"

"Can't tell. It's a single animal. Ostrich-horse, I think, but- heavy."

By that point she could _hear_ the thundering footsteps. Heavy it might be, but the runner was fast. And headed straight for them. Bosco must have picked up on it too, because the lump shook himself and turned to face the threat. Or greet it. Bosco's instincts had been somewhat confused by life in the palace. It was somewhat questionable whether the beast realized he was a bear and not an oddly shaped very hairy person. The hat and coat probably didn't help his identity issues.

"Toph? Shouldn't we do something? It could be dangerous!"

"It's a little too late to try running, genius!" she retorted. "Stand your ground, it's here!" They could all hear it by then. If Toph hadn't been able to sense the creature's footfalls, the sound of snapping branches and trampled brush would have suggested a whole herd of fox-antelope or possibly a stampede of armadillo-lions.

As their pursuer burst into the clearing, Sokka threw himself out of the way with a cry that sounded suspiciously like "WaAaaaugh!" The creature launched past without the slightest indication of noticing his existence, likewise ignored Appa, Momo's spastic flying and all human reactions as it skidded to a halt a bare foot in front of Zuko.

Dust and rocks spit forward as it jerked short, nearly dislodging the two mounted figures barely discernable through the dust cloud. The ostrich-horse made a sound halfway between irritated snort and contented whicker, and twitched violently just as the taller figure made to dismount, causing the man to land solidly on the rubble below.

"_That's_ it, you feckless no-good flea bag! Mangy, psychotic scab-legs. I'm carving you for dinner and using your mite-infested feathers to stuff myself a nice, fat pillow!"

"Don't."

The words came from Zuko's mouth, but he gave no further response or even seemed to realize he'd made one at all as he stood frozen in shock.

The tall rider beat dust from his pants as he stood and chuckled.

"That's my hello? Thought you had better manners than that, kid."

Zuko's face shifted to incredulity as the dust settled, revealing a familiar face to match the tantalizingly familiar voice.

"Kai?"

His gaze flicked to the second rider as he dismounted with far more grace and far less violent language.

"Uncle?"

In two steps Iroh closed the distance and swept his nephew into a bone-breaking hug. The old man sighed deeply, blunt, calloused hands clamped on the boy's shoulders with a strength that suggested he was reassuring himself of Zuko's solidity even as he sought to prove his own presence. The stunned assembly gradually regrouped from where they had scattered for cover.

"Uncle…" Zuko finally gasped. "Can't…. breathe."

Iroh released his hold immediately but didn't pull away. He was pleasantly gratified that Zuko didn't either.

Before anyone had a chance to attempt explanations, a large beak knocked into Zuko's shoulder and nearly toppled him. His mouth quirked and he ran his hand over Help's ruffled head. There were twigs and leaves stuck all over in the ruffled feathers.

"Yes, yes. I see you," he muttered before turning back to the unexpected arrivals, one arm twined around the beast's thick neck, although it was a toss up whether this was intended to restrain or reassure the thing.

Sokka watched with an eyebrow cocked. "Sooooo," he drawled as the silence lengthened. "How did you find us?" He turned to Kai and pointed with his boomerang. "And who are you, anyway."

"I'm a friend. Bird brain here did the finding." Kai shot Zuko a glance. "I think he missed you. He was trying to break down the stall when we arrived."

Toph grinned. "Sounds like they have something in common. Zuko doesn't like being shut up either."

"Can't say I'm fond of captivity myself. Barely managed to avoid it, what with your Uncle making unexplained side trips to teashops on the way out of town. We got out just in time. Didn't even have the chance to grab another mount. What exactly happened, anyway? I've met a lot of strange folks, and-_ cautious_- sorts, but you really take the cake for cryptic warnings."

Zuko shrugged as well as he could with a giant head draped over his shoulder. "Azula's taken over the Dai Li- and now all of Ba Sing Se. Ask them how she got in."

Sokka winced. Iroh took this all in at a glance and gently rested his hand on Zuko's free shoulder.

"I'm sure there is much to tell, from all (involved)." It had not escaped the old man's attention that while Zuko's exposed arms showed lean muscle, his nephew looked worryingly thin. Iroh himself had lost a few stone during the past few months, but he had the weight to spare and his nephew did not. "I'm just glad you're all right."

_All right. Sure. I'm just peachy, Uncle. Picture of health._

Zuko made a non-committal gesture, glancing away from Uncle's concerned gaze. Toph had made herself a seat to observe the proceedings in comfort, content to postpone judgment- for now. Sokka looked uncomfortable and disbelieving, Kuei confused and almost recognizable under a layer of dust, and Katara had instinctively placed herself slightly in front of Aang to defend the group's most valuable, and vulnerable, member. Despite his obvious pain, the Airbender was all but bubbling with suppressed curiosity and excitement, even sprawled on the ground and lacking the strength to stand.

_Oh yeah. Remember the injured kid? The one your sister tried to fry?_

"Hold that thought, Uncle," he managed and then practically lunged for the closest saddlebag. After several moments rummaging around he stepped back and shot Kai a glare that would have melted steel. Kai merely raised an eyebrow.

"What? I kept things the way you had them."

"You put the bags on the wrong sides." Several moments later Zuko pulled something free from the opposite saddlebag. Kai still looked completely unconcerned by the apparent hostility. Zuko dumped the bundle into Katara's startled grasp, pausing only to pull free a battered tin, which promptly disappeared into his clothes.

"What is all this?"

Zuko began unloading the contents of Hoshi's medical kit, setting aside the most relevant items. Katara stared at the bandages and medicines.

"Zuko, where did you get all this?"

"A friend. You can use it, right?"

Katara opened her mouth and closed it again. Why did she feel so nervous?

"Yeah, I'm sure this will help a lot, I just don't know Earth Kingdom remedies very well."

"They're labeled."

"I can see that."

"So read the directions."

Katara clenched her jaw, but bit back anything she might regret. _Don't lose your temper_, she reminded herself forcefully. _He's not trying to rile you up on purpose, it's not his fault you feel so damn jittery all the time. It's just a stressful situation for everyone, so stay professional._

Uncle pulled leaves and twigs from his hair and turned to Kai. "I don't suppose you are familiar-" he began in a leading tone, and Kai dropped his indifferent pose and stepped forward.

"With field medicine? I'm no expert, but I've dealt with enough battlefield emergencies to know the basics. Show me what you got, lady."

Whoever Iroh's strange companion was, Katara decided, at least he had manners.

Kuei had recovered enough by this point to regain his voice. He settled his glasses straight and leaned forward, shedding most of the concealing dust. Granted, the past week or so had turned his life so far upside down at this point just about anything was possible but-

"Are you a soldier, then?"

"Was," the mercenary replied without looking up, "who wants to know-?" His head came up as he wound an unrolled bandage around his hand, caught sight of the disheveled monarch, and froze. Zuko stifled a laugh at his gob smacked expression as the man took in the dull hat, stained silk robes and scratched jade necklace of office.

"Your Majesty….?"

Kuei smiled gently as Kai straightened noticeably and offered a stiffly formal bow, a gesture far more reminiscent of a military salute than a courtly obeisance. "Kuei is fine. Please continue with your work, I'm sure Aang will be greatly relieved by your assistance."

"Nice to meet you!" the boy in question chirped, his never-ending enthusiasm to make new friends undaunted even now. Kai relaxed and shook his head, shooting a glance over his shoulder at Zuko.

"You do realize you're going to have to tell me how the _hell _you ended up in this situation."

"Later."

Iroh shifted his hand on his nephew's shoulder. "Come," he said gently, "We should give them space to work." He removed his touch and turned to lead Zuko away, and therefore missed the mild shiver that ran through the boy.

"Welp, guess we're camping here then." Sokka sounded slightly bemused by the rapid turn of events but as always looked for the practical action, and began unpacking the saddlebags as the Firebenders walked a little ways off. "There'd better be food in- oh hey! This is some nice rope."

Before anyone could think of commenting on what exactly made him so excited about that particular discovery Sokka looped the coil around his neck, stuck an arm through so it hung across his chest and continued rooting through Zuko's stuff, occasionally dropping items on the ground. The ostrich horse watched him curiously, and then nudged him so hard Sokka fell on his butt. Toph laughed, and Help leaned forward to investigate the strange blue figure with inquisitive sniffs before signaling his approval with a sneeze. Aang laughed somewhat breathlessly, remembering his friend's first encounter with Appa and a similar sequence of events.

Between Kai's field medicine and Katara's Waterbending training, they still didn't make a fully qualified healer. Fortunately, the supplies were very well labeled, and Katara felt some of her earlier frustration dissipate. She might not be sure what she was doing, but evidently whoever had put together the kit had. Soon they had a campfire blazing, medicinal herbs brewing, salve to clean the wound and bandages to wind around Aang's chest and foot.

Katara followed the directions and didn't let herself stop to wonder why so much of the poppywillow tea had been used up already, or what Zuko might have retrieved from the supplies that he didn't want anyone else to have or use. Humming softly, she let her gaze drift in the direction Iroh had taken Zuko and felt her lips curve in a smile. The old man could deal with Zuko's bizarre issues better than they could anyway.

"So, Kai isn't it?" Toph scooted forward. "How'd you get pulled into this mess?"

"Funny you should ask. See, I was in this town for a job, looking for someone to watch my back…"

Zuko followed his Uncle silently. When Iroh finally stopped by a fallen log, he grasped Zuko's wrist and guided him to sit. Zuko met his eyes, but said nothing. Iroh raised one hand and gently cupped the boy's neck, pulling him close. The boy felt almost frail under Iroh's touch and the old man had seen too much of war not to notice the dark pain in his eyes, the tension rigid through his body and echoed in every movement. Whatever had occurred in his absence had left deeper scars than he had let himself hope. He had found the boy none too soon, and dared not press too hard for pushing Zuko away.

"When you are ready," Iroh said. Zuko twisted his fingers into his sleeves and clung tight, face pressed to the solid comfort of Iroh's shoulder, inhaling the scent of dried tea and faint smoke.

"Can't-" the boy began, words muffled against cloth.

"When you are ready," the old man repeated," I will listen."


End file.
